The Smorgasbord

I haven’t heard much about the fact that Google recently launched encrypted search. It’s pretty easy to use, all you have to do is go to https://www.google.com to encrypt searches (just add the “S” to make it secure to the http part).

What this does is encrypts your searches from prying eyes over public connections, wifi, even at work! Now, some privacy advocates still says “but google has the data” – but short of a court order nobody’s getting that! The nice thing about it is that it also doesn’t archive your searches in history, and your searches won’t appear in the “autofill” of future results on that PC either. I mean, you wouldn’t want your kids typing in “bunny” for the easter bunny – only to have your (previous) search autofill “bunny ranch sex” would you? LMAO.

Google encrypted search – you may have to use it someday!

You can dump Comcast DNS for Google Public DNS for a much faster Internet on your computer! I’ve been a staunch Comcast cable Internet subscriber for nearly a decade now. Probably because I live in a small town and there’s never been anything else here but dial up and DSL that’s much slower. We can’t get Verizon Fios high speed service (or anything else). For better of for worse, Comcast has been the fastest game in town for years (like many communities).

We doing business with “the beast” there have been lots of issues of course – going back to when Comcast would “hijack” packets when people were filesharing or using peer to peer networks, to bandwidth caps, and all kinds of other things. There have been many times when web sites would hang (or be really slow) – but when I ping them from another data center they were just fine. Lately, the thing I really don’t like is the fact that Comcast now participates in “DNS hijacking”. When you mistype a URL that doesn’t exist, instead of giving you a “not found” page – they give you targeted ads! I guess other ISP’s do it too, and it’s called “DNS Redirection Advertising“. I call it BS.

So, when google announced “google public DNS” today – I about peed myself! Everyone knows google’s data centers are fast as hell and very redundant (all over the world). They are faster, more powerful, and probably more secure than Comcast will ever be – and they don’t filter a damn thing! No ads, no BS – woohoo! You can use google’s public DNS whether you are on Windows, Ubuntu, or Mac! It’s easy and quick to make the change, google has directions on using pubic DNS here.

If you’re using Ubuntu (like me), just to go to “System -> Network Connections” and “edit” whatever connection you’re using (Wireless, Wired, etc), and then go to the “IPv4″ tab:

Just enter their public server addresses like I did:
8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4

(make sure there is a space between the 2 sets of numbers).

I have to say – I noticed an IMMEDIATE improvement and MUCH FASTER speed! I LOVE it!!!

Sidenote – if you want to continue to use Comcast DNS – they apparently a DNS Health Portal, where you can use “opt out” servers for the DNS redirection. I’m sure nearly no one knows about this (or uses it) – AND it’s STILL slower than google! Some people use Open DNS because they have filtering options – might be good for families with younger kids, or protection against malware. Me – I now prefer the lightning quick speed on Google’s Open DNS!!

46 Days. To some that means nothing, but to millions of Americans 46 Days means they had better get a move on. 46 shopping days left until Christmas seems like a lot that is until you’re buying gifts for people at Walgreens on Christmas Eve. Why not get a move on Christmas a little earlier than usual.

First off I have got the website that might just save you some of the trouble of treading through the masses of people looking for that hot Christmas item, Deal Catcher. I just recently found this site but it is a gem. It crawls the web looking for the best days from the webs greatest shopping sites. You can find deals from 1800flowers all the way to zappos. They also have coupons; all around this website could save you some serious time this holiday shopping season.

Black Friday is a longed for day for the bravest of shoppers but for most it’s dreaded. Even though the deals are fantastic you just can’t seem to drag yourself to fight over a Blu-Ray player with a 60 year old woman who thinks it plays VHS tapes. If you’re like the type I just mentioned then you may just want to skip over these next sites. First is Black Friday Ads is a great site to see adscans of the biggest and best black Friday sales. This site also has a section that showcases the ‘hottest deals’. Next we have Black Friday info is another good site for planning your black Friday escapades. They not only have all the black Friday deals and adscans but they also have deals that other places are offering leading up to black Friday.

One more deal that everyone on the web seems to be talking about is Wal-Mart’s pre-Black Friday sale. Currently the deals run from November 7th to November 13th, even though Wal-Mart has state that how long the sale last is completely dependent on how long supplies last. Right now the big ticket item is an Xbox 360 arcade which is $200 dollars but comes with a 100 dollar Wal-Mart gift card. The gift card can be used in store or on the website so you can see how lots of people are trying to get on the best deal so far this season. A few of the other deals include a Sony Blu-Ray player for 149 dollars and a HP laptop for $298 dollars.

Christmas is approaching and if you follow some of these websites and tips you could save yourself the giant headache this season gives you every year.

I’m hoping that my “Back to School Laptop Buying Guide” will be a post I can point all my friends and family to when they barrage me with questions about “what laptop should I get” for my son, daughter, friend, parent, co-worker, etc. It seems like this time of year people are always seeking advice during the “back to school” time sales – whether it’s for someone in high school, college, or even something for a gift or present later down the road. Its nearly the time that all students dread, and all parents love, back to school time! With back to school comes the need for a new laptop. So why wade through all the garbage when I can do it for you!

Obviously a student needs a light, super portable, and a power house for extensive apps! With that being said most manufacturers laptops are loaded with ad-ware, and junk files when its bought. So make sure when you do get your little electronic piece of gadget lore home you clear it of all the garbage. Now on to the guide.

Budget Laptop Review

Gateway TC7804u Price: 599.99 to 699.99

Generally speaking I wouldn’t normally recommend a gateway anything, but for the price this is one of the best ultra-portable laptops. At 5.3 pounds it a little beefy but with a large 320 gb hard drive, 2 ghz intel core 2 duo processor and 14 inch screen it makes the extra weight very bearable. It also boasts a Wireless N networking so it has great speeds from long range. It also looks very slick and sexy with a glossy black finish, beveled lid, metal trim and glowing orange media controls.

Gaming

Alienware Area-51 m15x Price: 3,249.99(Depends on configuration)
For those you want some stress free gaming time ‘between classes’ or whatever you tell your parents. In all seriousness this is the very best gaming laptop on the market. If you are serious about your gaming hobby and have the cash to shell out, you wont be disappointed with this purchase. It is pretty light for a gaming laptop at a manageable 7.1 pounds. You also get to pick the LED backlight color and even the case design. Aside from aesthetics this bad boy is a beast under the hood, packing a 15.4 inch display with a max 1080p resolution, Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 CPU running at 2.8 GHZ, Nvidia GeForce 9800M GT GPU, and even a Blu-ray burner.

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Mainstream

Dell Studio XPS 16
Its got a large 16 inch LED-Back light display, and ways in at a 6.4 pounds which is light for comparable models. 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 CPU, 3GB of RAM, and you get a 250GB hard drive and slick slot-loading DVD burner. It battery life leaves something to be desired but it makes up for it with great performance and a great price. It displays at 720p so watching HD is also great. For the money its a great price and performace make this a great buy.

Got your own favorite? Then tell us about it in the comments!

Do a quick search of “Jesus Phone” on google and you will see why its the iPhone’s nickname. Okay so the iPhone is great on its own, but you can open a whole new world of possibilities by doing a hack know as “jailbreaking.” Basically jailbreaking is a process that allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to run unofficial code on their devices bypassing Apple’s official distribution mechanism, the App Store. Once jailbroken, iPhone users are able to download many applications previously unavailable through the App Store. As of today, July 27 2009, jailbreaking is not illegal but the US Copyright Office is expected to rule on this later this year.

*As always this process is not recommended if you lack experience with electronics*
*Backup all of your data before beginning this process!*

Step 1: Download the software “redsn0w” from http://theiphoneproject.org/windows/redsn0w-win_0.7.2.zip
Step 2: Follow the software prompts.
Step 3: Plug into your PC or Mac and press the buttons it tells you to.
Step 4: Enjoy your new jailbroken iPhone!

Now that the hack is completed you should get familiar with the new app store that was installed, cydia. Its nearly identical to the old Apple App Store so it should be easy to get used to it.

Now on the good part: The Apps! First you should download Cycorder. This app allows you to record video @ 15fps in Quicktime format. This means you wont need to buy the 3GS for video because you just got it for free! Next you should download PDANet. This awesome app allows you to use your iPhone as a wireless router or a mobile modem. Basically this means you can now use your teether you iPhone to a MAC or PC connect to the internet where it would otherwise be impossible! Finally there is Discover. This app makes your iPhone accessible to every computer on your home network. This means you can add media files to your iPhone from any computer in your house! These are just a few of the great apps you can download with your jailbroken iPhone!

I have also included a video from G4′s Attack of the Show. They detail everything you can now do with your brand new Jailbroken software and they also include a video guide for installing the hack!

Enjoy the hack and make sure to post your results in the comment section!

I came across this great article full of “Linux Terminal Shortcuts” this morning and thought I would share. Well the title of the post was actually “50 ways to impress geeky linux friends”, but I think there were some good tidbits in there for people using linux that might not know how powerful the command line is. Although it requires a bit more effort than the dumbed down “point and click” world – I think you might find these features far more useful (and advanced) than any version of Windows.

Out of the 50 tips, here are the ones I picked out to be most useful Linux Terminal Shortcuts:

1. Rip a DVD: You wouldn’t think it would be this easy, but you can rip a DVD on the command line with the following: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/cdrom_image.iso
2. Encrypt your files: Easily encrypy any files from prying eyes using this command: gpg -c filename.doc, and simply enter your password twice. Then to decrypt them later, just run this command: gpg filename.doc.gpg and enter the password you used.
3. Block a Web Site: Kids use your laptop a lot? Boyfriend spending too much time on MySpace? You can block any web site in linux quickly and easily. Just run this command to open a file: gedit /etc/hosts, and then add 127.0.0.1 website.com one by one to block any web sites you want!
4. Scan Wireless Networks: If you want to scan for all available wireless networks, run this command: iwlist scan, and get much more info on each than you would ever get in Windows.
5. Convert text to HTML: Linux shines in it’s ability to process information, and particularly in conversion utilities. For example, convert a text file into HTML like this: recode ..HTML < file.txt > file.html
6. Schedule a download: Say you want to download an 800MB file but want to do it when everyone is asleep? Just run this command: echo ‘wget url’ | at 01:00

I’m sure there are tons more not in that article – post yours now below!

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I was asked the other day by a colleague “how do I print directory file lists for all my external drives”? I would imagine that this is a pretty common task, considering those of us with gaggles of external drives just chock full of digital images, mp3′s, documents, videos, and more! Most people I know are really big digital packrats!

Back in the days of dial-up modems, when broadband was still kind of dreamy – we had these things called “utilities”. Windows was just an operating system, and there were all kinds of things that it “didn’t do” yet…like unzip files, manage themes, burn cd’s, and countless other things. There were lots of software repositories online where you could download freeware “utilities” that did cool things. Those days were kind of lost with the wild west days of the web.

I’m happy to announce there are still a few programmers out there writing and maintaining cool and free downloadable software utilities, and Karen’s Powertools is one of them. Her utility solves the problem of trying to figure out what exactly is stored in a bazillion directories by allowing you to print them a detailed listing, that includes options for date, name, system files, subdirectories and more. If you don’t download it – bookmark it today, when someone asks you how you do this – you’ll remember reading this post and want to forward it on to them!

You can download Karen’s Directory Printer here!

My “Free Online Storage” review of 10 different online backup services shows you how you can protect your digital photos, mp3′s, multimedia, documents, and more online (for free!)

A co-worker recently told me that he had two external hard drives that he’d been backing up photos and mp3′s to – and they were about out of storage space. He wanted to know what his options were for more storage space, and if tape backup were still a viable thing to invest in.

I think this is a good question, one that more and more people have as digital pictures start piling up – and as more of us buy music online vs. having a pile of cd’s lying around. It used to be the only thing you worried about was a fire destroying your precious family photos or music collection. Nowadays – I think that people are much more careless with “digital” versions of memories or paid music. Think about it, have you ever had a computer die, motherboard fry, or a hard drive go bad?

I few years ago my own daughter was heartbroken when over 2 years of digital photos were lost (in addition to he mp3′s) when her hard drive crashed. No matter what I did I couldn’t bring that drive back long enough to get data off of it. I should have done then what I told my co-worker to do now.

If you’re in a similar situation – you can of course buy more network storage as I’ve written about in the past. You could also get a wireless hard drive, or a Buffalo Drivestation – but by purchasing more hardware you still aren’t safe from a fire – unless you are backing up and then taking those external drives to a secondary location on a regular basis (like a safe deposit box).

My recommendation to my co-worker was to signup for “free online storage”. This way you’re protected from a natural disaster in addition to computer issues. In addition – you can also access your files from multiple computers if necessary, and getting at your files when you get a new PC or laptop is no problem. All this sounds expensive – doesn’t it?

There are 6 different online storage services featured in this c|Net review, but I decided to also add some services to this list that they left out. All in all, every online storage site listed below has a “free” option that you can use – and if you signed up for them all you could get more than 100GB of free online storage space combined!

We start with Windows SkyDrive, and they offer 5GB of online storage for free. It’s password protected storage, and I would be a bit surprised if this is something they don’t try and push as a “feature” of the next version of Windows. This services looks pretty simple, but I wouldn’t be surprised if was only completely usable from Internet Explorer (and most geeks I know use Firefox). You can make files public, personal, or shared.

MediaFire is a completely free online storage service that claims “completely unlimited storage”. Looks like their banking on that model of getting tons of online users and worrying about how to pay for it later (and maybe being bought for big bucks like YouTube!). They have options for making files public or personal. There is a limit of 100MB per file, but that shouldn’t affect the majority of people.

The XDrive has been around awhile – it was one of the first online storage services that I can remember. You get 5GB for free, then it’s $9.95 per month after that. XDrive was purchased by AOL some time ago – so you need an AOL username to login or create an account, but an AIM ID will do if you have one of those. You can upload files one at a time, or there’s a “java accelerator” for multiple files. You can share files and folders with this service as well.

You can get 2GB free online storage with MozyHome, or pay $4.95 per month for unlimited. Purchased by EMC, this service has been around about 2 years. Unlike the services listed so far, to use MozyHome you have to install an application that will backup your email, documents, and photos. You can choose (in “expert” mode) what files are or aren’t backed up, and how often backups occur. Mozy runs in the background looking for changed files to backup on a regular schedule.

Carbonite is probably the most heavily advertised online storage servies, with (currently) ads on the radio every hour. You get unlimited online storage space, but the cost is $4.95 per month, or $50 if you pay by the year. Carbonite is like Mozy, it’s an “online backup” service that runs in the background backing up your PC or laptop as you work. The difference between Carbonite and all the other online backup and storage services is that your files are encrypted before being securely sent from your PC to the Carbonite servers. That might not be important to some people, but as far as privacy and personal and confidential documents are concerned – it should be. Especially since most PC’s are riddled with personally identifiable information like resume’s, financial information, claimforms, and maybe even copies of paystubs or timesheets. If you own a home based or small business you would be smart to choose Carbonite for this one reason alone.

Box.net offers 1GB for free or 5GB for $7.95 per month. The free account limits individual file size to only 10MB per file. There’s also a 10GB per month bandwidth limit (if you’re repeatedly updating the same files), and they have a java drag and drop application that you can use. Even though this service seems a bit limited and restricted (for the free account), it does have uses that the others listed so far don’t. You can use this service to host blog or eBay photos and then placing the link on the appropriate page. It might be a handy account to have for just those types of uses, or for smaller short term online file storage.

ADrive offers 50GB of free online storage and they offer a “desktop backup client” as well. Something ADrive offers that the others don’t (or at least didn’t mention) was the ability to edit documents online. You can share files, and ADrive boasts a “search tool” as well, something I hadn’t seen any of the other services list in their offerings. ADrive sounds like a great service since it has lots of free space AND an online backup tools, but I hope that the intermittent problems I was having with their web site aren’t indications that their servers are maxed out (from too many users).

iDrive offers 2GB of online storage space for free with additional accounts starting at $4.95 per month. iDrive is advertised as working for both the Mac or PC – and you need to install their application to work with the service. You can select what to backup, or have true archiving and “sync” of updated files – and even access up to the last 30 versions. You can search and restore, or even explore your backed up files from a “windows explorer” like view.

Humyo offers 30GB of online storage space for free, which also includes the ability to edit files online. You don’t get a desktop client with the free version or encrypted file transfers (you can get 100GB and encrypted file transfers for $59 per year). You can send files via email with this service with no restrictions on size. The unique feature of Humyo is the ability to “publish and embed” media. You can put your media (movie file, mp3) on a blog or social networking site, and Humyo automatically embeds a “player” on the page – making it a snap to publish your media wherever you want. This would be a great feature for artists or bands.

Orbit files offers 6GB of free online storage space. You can edit your files online, and OrbitFiles offers a “tag and search” feature I’ve not seen in other services. You can add friends and share files, zip folders, and create public or private photo albums. Two features unique to OrbitFiles are the ability to enable RSS, and the ability to “sell files”. That’s right – you can sell your files online, whether it be PDF, eBooks, MP3′s, photos – you name it! They only charge a small 2% commission on the sale price – which really is quite cheaper than most options for selling digital content online!

There are all kinds of other online storage services that seem to do something different to set themselves apart. Like Omemo for example, which bills itself as the “world’s largest drive”. You sign up, and “share” part of your free hard drive space with others, for a huge “peer to peer virtual drive”. DropBoks offers 1GB of space in what appears to be about the simplest online storage interface I’ve seen. In.solit.us offers free online storage that you can even access from your iPhone. divShare offers 5GB storage and 10GB bandwidth per month and boasts integration with WordPress, Facebook, and iPhone. They have an API that can used to integrate their storage space with any online application. SendUit offers the ability to send files via an expiring download link that you can set from 30 minutes to one week.

Whichever service you choose – you should be able to find at least one online storage service that meets your needs!

Ever lost a password? I did today, and I found a “free password reveal tool”. Actually, what happenned was that I had a password saved in my browser, but I didn’t know what it was anymore and I wanted to change it. When I tried to change the password, it wanted the old one before I could enter a new one…and well, that was the start of a way to figure my password out.

Back in the day (like 10 years ago) I remember when we used to download all kinds of Windows utilities to do handy things, and there was this thing called a “password revealer” that I used to have. When you ran a small executable file it would open a “loupe” (fancy word for jewelers maginifying glass). When you moved the “loupe” over a password field it would turn the dots or asteriks into their real letters, numbers, and characters revealing the real password. w00t!

Now today I wanted to find this utility or a very good reason – I wanted to figure my own password out. Unfortuantely there are people out there who would want to use this tool for ill gotten gains, like hacking your myspace password, breaking into your hotmail account, or for an easy way to steal your yahoo password. What I’m saying is, I’m going to give you a tool you can use to reveal most saved password, but it would be in your best interest to uninstall when you were done to keep prying eyes from getting into your business! Like I said – there’s a reason that less than 100 people per month search for “password revealer”, but more than 2,000 each search for “hacking myspace password”, and “hotmail password stealer”?!?

When your dealing something like looking for a “password revealer” tool – a lot of the search results are spammy or trying to get you to buy some piece of software to solve your problem. I was lucky enough that Lifehacker saved the day (again) with their post Recover Lost Passwords. They linked to a site and post I forgot about – Snadboy’s Revelation 2.0, which is course is a freeware password revealer. It worked for me! If it doesn’t work for you, try some of the other tools on the Lifehacker page, and report back here what works and what doesn’t!

Memory Cards keep getting lost? Get a “Memory Card Case” to organize them so you have them all in the same spot – each and every time!

I can’t tell you how many times I went to the Camera case and all the memory cards were gone. Or the times that I grabbed my digital camera and either no memory card was in it – or the card in it was full of pics (I wasn’t sure if I could erase yet). Flash memory cards are small, and the microSD ones are smaller than a thumbnail.

Of course, there’s already something you can buy to fix this problem – and it’s a “memory card case”. There’a ton of ‘em on eBay – and they don’t cost that much at all. In fact, it’s probably more expensive to replace a lost flash memory card than it is to get the case, not to mention the cost you can’t put on precious memories and pics and if they aren’t on your PC yet. These would make excellent gifts for Christmas or any occasion – you should stock up now!

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