Netflix Streaming Outage?

There seems to be a small problem with my Netflix service here where I am (Silicon Valley, CA.) .. like, a total service outage. (Noticed it about 8:50 pm.)

Anyone else?

Wow. Their website doesn’t load, either.. I get a blank (all white) page.. 11:40pm The website is back

I appreciate your input, folks.

(DownRightNow say Twitter is having outages too)

(Cloud computing can be great when it works… but a wee bit aggravating when it doesn’t.)

[update: 6/30, 11:30am: Netflix still appears to be down, Twitter back, and now Facebook and Tumblr down..]

Maybe You’ll Find These Helpful..

Sometimes, I find it very difficult to bite my tongue.. But I’ll be nice. Today I have some good info to share with you. Read on.

Apple (Mac) owners: Apple releases Flashback removal tool, infections drop to 270,000

“Apple today released an update to its Java component that removes known versions of the Flashback malware. In a separate study, Symantec reported that it counted only 270,000 infected Macs, down…” Read more..

Yes, folks.

The days of “Apples do not get viruses” are O – V – E – R. (Been true for a while now..) Fortunately, there’s an AV for Macs that’s not only good, but free: Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition
“Free antivirus that works simply and beautifully.”

Reminder: The deadline for filing with the I.R.S. is mere hours away. To help you meet this deadline, on the IRS website there is a page called “FreeFile”, and here you will find the “partnership links” to the free versions of 19 accepted tax prep programs — of which H&R Block’s Free File and also TurboTax are available.
To qualify, you must have an Adjusted Gross Income of $56,000 or less.

Today’s (2nd) free link: FreeFile at the IRS
(Note: there’s two buttons on the page; “I will choose” and “help me choose”. Though all of the programs there are accepted by the IRS, I would recommend clicking the “I will choose”, and then selecting either H&R Block or TurboTax.)

Best for last department: I met a guy. Think you may want to be aware of him. More precisely, be aware of what he does.

What he does – with his Free Data Recovery site – is help people rescue data from hard drives that have decided to go severely wonky, and/or push up daisies. Die. Go kaput.

“A Revolutionary Approach
Welcome, my name is Stephen and I’ve put up this site to begin the roll out of a truly unique remote data recovery service that I think has the potential to revolutionize the field of hard drive data recovery.“

Q: Who might benefit from knowing about Steven and his new FDR?
A: Anyone who does not have a proper backup strategy in place (aka “everyone”).

Q: And why is this “revolutionary”?
A: Well, click the link (above) and he’ll tell you. What I’ll tell you is that data recovery is an expensive endeavor (often involving “clean rooms”) and those of you with business critical data (aka “corporate”) should use that kind of (expensive) service — but for us average folk, trying to recover a few photos, say, well Steve is the guy to call.
Seriously.
Click the link, or the image, and find out why. (And when you talk to him, tell him I sent you.) Read more..

Today’s quote: “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama

Your “Friday Fun”: Today’s funny video is a bit adult (language) and so I am just going to provide the link, and leave it up to you. But it is a classic Chris Rock sketch. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-880897175401400927

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

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Review – Streaming Music With Spotify

I was lucky enough to get an “invitation”, and have been using the music service Spotify for a few weeks now.

“Spotify is a new way to listen to music. Millions of tracks, any time you like. Just search for it in Spotify, then play it. Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it.“

Spotify has three levels of service:
• Free (waiting list for invite): Millions of tracks available instantly.
• Unlimited: ($4.99/mo) No advertisements, Unlimited streaming of music.
• Premium: ($9.99) same as Unlimited but adds, Spotify on your mobile, Offline mode for playlists.

Once I got it installed, the first thing I wanted to know was, did they have my artists and bands? (aka, Would they provide the music I wanted to hear?) Well, so far, the answer to that is 95% (or, higher) → yes. Considering the convoluted mess that is DRM, that is impressive.

Back in my day, THE band was Van Halen (unless you were into the Bee Gees). Did Spotify have that?

Yes, they do. And they also have Van Halen songs performed by other artists. (see the “Artist” column.) Great! But what about the band that popularized “hard” rock, AC/DC?

Oops. They only have “cover bands”. I found the same goes for The Beatles (which makes sense, as iTunes and Apple bought the rights to the Fab Four). But the weird part is, I only knew I was listening to a cover band because I read the list — my ears thought I was listening to John, Paul, Ringo, and George.

I found other instances of DRM/artist restrictions.. for instance, the band Offspring has two songs I really like – “Come Out And Play (Got To Keep Em Separated)” and “Self Esteem”. Though Spotify has plenty of Offspring songs, the first is not listed (too popular?) and the second is sort of listed, but is not the song at all (it’s some Bluegrass weird thingy) .. But their top song, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, is there.

But by and large, if I can think of the song, Spotify has it. I did not explore other music genres, but I have no reason to suspect the same would not be true there. (I did look up Johnny Cash, and he’s there. “I fell in to a burnin’ ring of fire..”) I do not think “millions of titles” is an exaggeration.

Spotify works much like the iTunes program, in that you can create “playlists”, play existing libraries, pause, replay, sort and search, etc.. It blows the doors off of Pandora if hearing your band play your song is what you prefer. I cropped my screenshots in a way that the banner ads in the free version are not as evident as they are when you have the Spotify ‘player’ open. I found no lags or skips or anything other than good quality when playing music with Spotify.

I can tell you that the “hype” over Spotify you have probably seen, seems justified to me , and I certainly understand why CNET calls it is a Top Pick. As I am not really a “music guy” these days (too many other distractions), I am fine with the free version, (and the ads don’t bother me as I create a playlist and then minimize the window) but were I still like I was when I was younger, and more “into the tunes”, I would seriously considering “upgrading” to the version that would allow me to access Spotify with my Android smart phone.. so I could better use it like an iPod when I am out walking. $10 a month for that, and “offline” playlists, seems quite reasonable to me.

You can check out Spotify, here. “All the music. All the time. On your computer, mobile phone, and more.” If you like listening to music, I highly recommend you do. Put your name on the waiting list for the free service, at least. Spotify earns two Tech Paul “thumbs up”.

(I might like to see an “equalizer” function.. you know, so I could crank up the bass.. ha! I guess I still have some music fan left in me..)

Today’s quote: “I like long walks, especially when they’re taken by people who annoy me.” ~ Fred Allen

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Music Radio For Your Phone (or Blackberry)(or PC)

Loyal readers know that some time ago now, I acquired one of those new-fangled Android “smart” phones. And (they) probably saw my recent mention that I was giving the new (to the USA) Spotify online music service a tryout as well.

image source = engadget.com

By definition, smart phones are more than just phones – they are cameras (movie cameras, even) and, with Internet access, web surfers and music players and GPS navigators and more. They can be mini televisions, and we can watch Netflix.. etc., etc., etc..

I was hoping that Spotify would give my ‘droid added music “streaming” ability – and it would, if I sign up for a premium service level (otherwise, it is PC only). Currently, though, I am not enough of a ‘music person’ (too busy) to justify a monthly fee for music access for my phone, though I can say that my early perusals of Spotify’s “library” lead me to think music lovers will find it a true bargain..

Currently, I plug in my headphones, and use the ‘droid’s FM Radio feature and tune in my fave local stations; or play some songs that I have loaded onto my memory chip (no, I do not purchase tunes). I have the Pandora app, but have found I never use it.. but here are some free music alternatives for you smart phone/Blackberry/iPhone owners:
[note: these can be used on your PC as well.]

• Pandora Radio
“Pandora radio is the personalized internet radio service that helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites. ”

• FlyCast
“FlyCast is the mobile broadcast network that gives you what you really want – choice. Choose what you want from the best music in all genres, talk radio, …

• Slacker Personal Radio
“Slacker Personal Radio is the easiest way to create free radio stations. Listen anywhere to free personalized Internet radio stations playing your favorite music.”

• Spotify (currently “invite only”)(Go there and sign up to receive an invite..)

Also, I have heard raves about XM Radio (Sirius), which requires a subscription.

I am sure there are other music services out there in Internet Land, and I hope music lovers will write in with their faves/reco’s. What music apps do you use?

Today’s reading:
• Netflix betting on subscriber fallout in Q3, everyone over it in Q4

“Netflix posted solid Q2 earnings on Monday, but naturally, all of the attention was focused on the recent price hikes. Nevertheless, Netflix execs feel confident that all the complaining is just hype.” Read more..

• Great Instructional Videos to Learn the Basics of Windows 7

“I am always on the hunt for instructional material for people that use their computers in their homes..” Read more..

Today’s quote: “Jumping for joy is good exercise.”  ~ Unknown

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Free Online OCR

Folks, I am crazy busy. For now, a quick reco (hopefully I can post more later today).

Free OCR Service Turns Image Files Into (Editable) Text

Free OCR is a free Web-based OCR service that turns any uploaded image file into a text file you can load into Word or your document editor of choice.

“Free-OCR.com is a free online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. You can use this service to extract text from any image you supply.

This service is free, no registration necessary. We also do not need your email address.

Just upload your image files. Free-OCR takes either a JPG, GIF, TIFF, BMP or PDF (only first page).

The only restriction is that the images must not be larger than 2MB, no wider or higher than 5000 pixels and there is a limit of 10 image uploads per hour.”

Today’s quote: “There is no pleasure worth forgoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.” ~ John Mortimer

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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What is Mobsync?

What is Mobsync and how do you disable it?

One of the most popular topics here has been how to make Vista boot up faster. And one of the ways you do that is by controlling what programs automatically load at startup. (See, Manage Startup programs in Vista.)

Readers of that article have been sending me questions about a program they have found running (by using Task Manager [Ctrl+Alt+Del]) which they cannot find any startup entries for.. and thus no way to ‘turn it off’. That program is called “mobsync.exe.”

Mobsync is a small program – called a “Service” – which is used for removable mass-storage devices, like thumb drives. Mobsync.exe enables applications such as Windows Media Player and Image Import Wizard to transfer and synchronize content with your removable storage devices. It is found in your Control Panel, and most people use it for “syncing” their address books and calendars on their mobile phones/PDA’s.

Tip of the day: Follow the simple steps below to stop mobsync from running at startup, and set this service to run manually. Then it will only be used when you actually sync devices on your PC or Laptop.

1. Open Run (Start > Run, or Start > Programs > Accessories > Run) and type in “services.msc” (no quotes), and hit Enter.
2. The Services window will open. Now scroll down the page until you locate a service called Portable Device Enumerator Service, then double click on it.
3. Click on the Stop button, then click on OK.
4. In the “General” tab: use the drop-down arrow to change the “Startup Type” to Manual. Then click on OK.
5. If prompted by UAC, select Continue.

In conclusion: mobsync is not a real “resource hog”, and leaving it be won’t hurt anything. Switching it from “always on” to “as needed”, by itself, will not drastically reduce how long it takes to start up your computer, or make your e-mail Inbox ‘load’ faster.
On the other hand, there’s no real reason for this to be running all the time except for the fact someone at Microsoft thought it should. Much like you don’t need Adobe Reader running except for when you need to open a PDF file, but the Adobe folks think you’ll like the “instant response” having it running will give you. To really get at the items slowing down your boot up time, I refer you to the article listed above. (This is more of a “control thing”.. a minor “tweak”.)

A word of caution: Some of you may get the urge – while in the Services window – to start turning off other Services. Don’t. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you can really mess things up, and either “kill” Windows altogether, or get some really strange (and unsatisfactory) results. This article may help you understand, and I recommend reading it before clicking on any other drop-down arrows.. Holiday Edition: What programs should be in Task Manager?

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Stream All Your Media – Free!

Turn Your PC Into An Internet Media Server

I came across an program that you can download and install on your PC which allows you to “serve” (aka “stream”) your stored media (recorded shows and movies, music, jpegs, etc.) over the Internet. Thus, when you are out-and-about (“mobile”) you can ‘log in’ to your “server” (your PC) and access your stuff; and/or you can share it with others.

It is called Orb, and it is feature packed and very simple to use.

“Orb MyCasting is a free service from Orb Networks that makes it easy for consumers to remotely view and share their live and recorded home and Internet TV, music, videos, photos, podcasts, and other digital media stored on their PC, from any Internet-connected device, be it a mobile phone, PDA or laptop.  MyCasting is the opposite of broadcasting, allowing you to stream your digital media when (time), where (place), and how (device) you want it.

Orb Networks is the first company to offer a single solution for enjoying virtually all of your digital media remotely, using the devices you already own.  There is no need to choose which technology path to go down to access your media remotely; other options are cumbersome and require an additional investment in yet another “cool” technology.  Orb is free and begins with one easy download: there is no hardware or software required, and no additional time needed to catalog and categorize your digital media.  You get instant access to the digital media that’s already on your PC.  Just download Orb and start MyCasting.”

I can see lots of uses for this technology whether or not you are a “road warrior” and often away from your PC. And it’s free. The folks there at Orb Networks get a big tip of my geek hat, and I encourage you to click here and visit their website. There is a short animation which demonstrates how it works, and screenshots of the many features.
(Also, you can view their Orb FAQ.)

All you need is a XP or Vista computer (to be the “server”) and a broadband Internet connection.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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