Check out these links I’ve found!
- Last.fm Goes Paid-Only for International Users, Kills Unofficial Mobile Apps [Streaming Music] – Bummer. Good thing I live in the US
- Boxee Adds Pandora, PBS, New API (and Fixes Hulu) [Downloads] –
- How Do I Setup a One-Way File Sync Backup? [Ask Lifehacker] –
- DoJ supports RIAA in Sony v. Tenenbaum three-ring circus –
- See, Nigerian Scammers CAN Be Friendly! –
- Locavore Lists the In-Season Food Near You [Downloads] –
- Interview: Meebo CEO on iPhone chat app, Push Notifications –
- Sentencing commission ponders extra jail time for proxy users – Another behavior vs. technology issue.
- Fugly Friday: The World’s Worst Website? –
- Web Developers: help rid the world of IE6 with a simple script –
- Start BitTorrent Downloads at Home from Any Computer with Dropbox [BitTorrent] –
- Safari hacked in a flash at Pwn2Own 2009, Firefox and IE8 follow – Ouch, that hurts a little doesn't it Apple?
- 85M Motor Yacht – Oh, I wish, I wish, I wish…
- Internet Explorer 8 Officially Released at Noon EST [Internet Explorer] –
- The Sun Also Sets? IBM Reportedly Looking to Buy Sun – Will IBM support open-source development? That's my biggest concern with an acquisition like this.
OS X, Personal
Links
I’ve been contemplating how to explain data backups in a way that will communicate exactly how critical this subject really is. I have dealt with a number of computers recently that were not backed up and have suffered some form of a hard drive failure – partial or total failure. In almost every case these people have lost valuable data that they will never be able to retrieve. So listen up, take heed, and actually start backing up your computer.
First, a computer will NOT run forever; its components will begin to fail over time or with damage. A computer is composed of a vast array of extraordinarily small electronic circuits that work together to give you the computer that you use every day. One of the key components to a computer is the hard drive which physically stores your data. Depending on your type of hard drive it is either composed of a group of spinning discs or a solid medium that can be manipulated with electric impulses. Either way if this physical device becomes damaged in any way it can (and most likely will) cause a loss of data – whether that loss be partial or total depends on the extent of the damage. Damage to a hard drive can occur in a number of ways – dropping it, overheating it, freezing it, rapidly changing its temperature, an electrical spike, a power failure, or just normal wear and tear. All of these things contribute to the physical breakdown of a hard drive and eventual data loss. You should always be careful with your hard drive and do your very best to keep it from being damaged.
Second, your computer should never be trusted as the sole keeper of your data. As I stated before age or damage can cause data loss, but there is another more common way data is lost – deletion. No matter how savvy you may think you are or how careful you are to ensure you are deleting the correct files, everyone at some point makes a mistake. Whether you accidentally delete the wrong file or overwrite a file with another, data loss is inevitable. Therefore you must back up your files on a regular schedule that coincides with the usage of your files. Simply put, you should always back up your computer after making changes to your files.
Finally, data loss happens through theft or loss of the device. This is pretty simple to understand. Whether your computer is stolen, taken, or somehow misplaced your data is gone. The only recourse you have is a back up that you have created. If done properly your back ups should never be taken at the same time as your main computer.
Now that you understand just how easily it is to lose your data the next step is to back it up.
Linux, OS X, Windows
Data Backups
Generally Microsoft’s advertising department is about as useful as a flashlight is to a blind person, but here they have finally done something right. This video definitely pokes fun of what we do on the Internet while simultaneously showing off the cool functionality of IE 8. Will I switch? Hell NO! But I do give Microsoft a thumbs up for a good ad.
Web, Windows
Funny
Check out these links I’ve found!
OS X, Personal
Links
I am currently returning home from Washington, DC. The flight is long as usual, but I have some outstanding news. I have taken a job with HouseCall IT. The process has been incredibly swift and exciting and now I am slated to start work in 3 weeks. My guess is the next 3 weeks is going to be a whirlwind of activity as we pack our belongings and move to DC. I am incredibly excited and certain that many people are going to ask how it all happened, so here it is:
Kendra has always had the dream of living in a large city. After her trip to the Inauguration that dream was revitalized and she begged me to consider moving to DC. I had been in the process of finding a full time position doing IT work for a good six months. As I’m sure everyone knows the economy is in a bit of a funk right now and jobs are few and far between. At the point when Kendra asked if we could move to DC, I had been rejected for a couple of jobs and was fed up with the way things in Eugene were looking. So I agreed and we set out a goal – we wanted to be living in DC with one of us fully employed by the end of September 2009. That was a pretty conservative goal and would give us plenty of time to save money and prepare for a 3,000 mile move. However, our plans rapidly changed.
Anna Sohriakoff was one of Kendra’s college roommates. She currently works for Senator Bunning as a scheduler. Through her time in DC she became acquainted with some of the HouseCall IT staff and, when we mentioned to her that we were looking forward jobs, forwarded my resume on to them. Unbelievably we were having our first conference call about 2 weeks later. During that call they said that my qualifications were perfect for an entry level position and they were very impressed by my blog (which you must be too, since you are still here reading). We had another interview about a week later at which time we made plans to have me fly out to DC so that I could see the business, meet the people, and they could get to know me better. That week long trial run/interview was this past week and I enjoyed every minute of it. The work is fast paced, the people are outstanding, and unlike my current job they do not micromanage what-so-ever. For those of you who have been micromanaged, I’m sure you know how freeing it is to finally get out from under the thumb of your boss. All of a sudden you feel trusted and it makes you that much happier with your life (at least that’s how it is working for me).
The basics of my new job are pretty amazing. I will be assigned a number of Congressional offices and will be responsible for helping them with all technology issues ranging from basic computer use to Blackberry support to regular server and backup maintenance. It will be my responsibility to ensure that each of these offices needs are being met daily. At the same time I will not be alone as I will be a part of a team of about 14 people who perform almost exactly the same function. If I need help, I can readily gain access to it and I will be able to add my knowledge and expertise into the mix.
I’m extremely excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to our move to DC. That being said, if my blog posts become fewer and longer between, please be patient I will be back as soon as I will pick back up as soon as I am able.
Personal
Check out these links I’ve found!
- Pillow Fight Leads To San Francisco Wanting Flash Mob Ban – Just another awesome event. I think they should flash mob the city councilmen and different times throughout the year. That would really piss 'em off!
- French anti-P2P law toughest in the world – Not good France! NOT GOOD!!! So much for the Open-Source ideals. You really can't do anything to make the world love you, can you?
- Google's new behavioral ads already raising privacy worries – I don't think it matters what my behaviors are, I'm still not going to click on adds.
- French police: we saved millions of euros by adopting Ubuntu – Way to go France! I like it.
- Creative Commons Add-In for Office Inserts Open Licenses Easily [Downloads] –
- Send Later for Thunderbird Adds Custom Quick-Delay Buttons [Downloads] –
- Songbird 1.1 Grabs Album Art in One Step, Runs Lighter and Faster [Downloads] –
- P2P judge smacks down "frivolous" motions from Harvard prof – I'm glad to see the judge is not taking sides. Let's hope for the best.
- Social Networking, Blogging Overtake E-mail as Chief Time Wasters –
- YouTube Pulls All Professional Music Videos In The U.K. – It's just getting worse.
- Norway's public broadcaster launches BitTorrent tracker – Rock on Norway, ROCK ON!!!!!
- Norway's public broadcaster launches BitTorrent tracker – Rock on Norway, ROCK ON!!!!!
- A week of Law & Disorder: talk like a pirate edition – Wow, at some point we're going to need to stop the legal battles and decide what we as a nation feel is right. I hope that means that Big Content doesn't get much of a say…
- Hulu kills Boxee support… again – Again, way to go Big Content. We only hate you more.
- Hulu kills Boxee support… again – What are they thinking?!?!?! Big Content continues to just piss off the customer. If it was any other market, we wouldn't put up with this crap.
- Give Up Texting For Lent, Archbishop Urges – It's an interesting plea. I definitely think balance is important, but I don't think the virtual world is that bad so long as you understand it is only possible because of real people.
- Security admin, botmaster sentenced to four years in prison – Ouch. Guess it doesn't pay to run a botnet.
- Blackout Ireland rallies support against P2P disconnections –
- MediaSentry weighed in the balance, found wanting –
- If you pirate a movie, do the terrorists win? –
OS X, Personal
Links
The Creative Commons License (CC) is starting to gain traction amongst many different artists, developers, and various other creative types. You will notice that I recently joined the league of CC license holders (see the very bottom of every page on my blog). Licensing your content takes literally minutes and embedding the CC image is as simple as adding code snippet to your page template. The main thing to understand about the CC license is it is a method of waiving some of your rights as a copyright holder to allow others to use your work. The CC license provides a very simple rubric by which you can gauge what level of copy protection you would like to maintain. In most all cases your original work is protected by the standard copyright laws – only you have the right to use and distribute your work as you please. Others do not have the right to use and distribute your work without your permission. Thus, by using a CC license you can specify exactly what others can do with your work, making it easy for people to legally recognize that they can use your work and then do so. The CC license has become very popular and is beginning to be used by many different people – from recording artists to software developers. So far the CC license has held up in court, although the cases are very few and far between. To use the CC license for your content simply visit the CC license page.
Software, Web
Last.fm and Pandora are my two absolute favorite streaming music players. Pandora set the standard for streaming, near commercial free, music and Last.fm has brought a social networking aspect to the same service. As I develop my Internet presence, I have come to prefer Last.fm for its social networking services. I have linked my Lifestream to my profile to pull down my scrobbled tracks. It also allows others to see what songs and artists I have enjoyed. The one downside to Last.fm (and Pandora, for that matter) is the web browser controls. I hate having to leave a browser tab open to keep the music streaming and then when I want to change the station or skip a track, I have to navigate to that window and make the change. So I went hunting for a Last.fm client for my Mac and I stumbled across this article by Download Squad about Amua – a Mac Last.fm client. Of course I downloaded Amua immediately, entered by Last.fm credentials and started listening to music. So far I am very pleased with Amua; it hides in the menu bar nicely, the controls are simple to use, and I can quickly access it. The one major downside is it links to Last.fm via iTunes, which means you have to have iTunes open. Thus if you aren’t an iTunes user, or you like to keep it closed since it is a terrible resource hog, Amua probably isn’t for you. Check it out on the Amua Sourceforge page.
OS X, Software
Music
This is by far my favorite TED talk yet. Mike Rowe makes some outstanding points in his talk and I feel that as a society we should take heed. I highly recommend you watch, listen, contemplate, and take action.
Web
TED
As I sit on this flight to Washington DC I am realizing just how much of my daily computer activities are linked to the Internet. I generally listen to music through Last.fm, download software and add plugins to software I already use, read a long list of blogs and news sites, blog, do web development of two web sites, take 2 online courses, check in with our help ticket system at work, view Google Analytics, constantly monitor my email, chat through Adium, and that doesn’t include any of the web surfing I do to learn about new topics. Sitting here I wonder how I ever managed to survive without an Internet connection when my family traveled around the country. Sure we would hit an Internet cafe here and there, but I only checked my email once or twice a week – and that was just under 5 years ago! Now I have a much nicer laptop with better programs, but without Internet access it feels like a useless brick. Just thougt I’d notify everyone that I am stunningly bound to the Internet. (Obviously I posted this after getting back to an Internet connections. Whew… I feel much better now.)
Personal, Web
Internet
Tim Seymour lives in Washington, DC. He works as a Systems Administrator for 
