Tuesday, February 24, 2009

TV addict

EVEN though I usually don’t have the time, I have to admit that I’m a couch potato at heart. Give me a good TV show—CSI, House, Dexter, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, to name just a few—and I’ll happily drop what I’m doing and vegetate. Unfortunately, I’m almost never home in time to catch these shows when they air on cable, and I don’t own a TiVo.  In theory, the Internet would be the perfect solution to my scheduling problems. Just watch the episodes online when I’m free. The problem is, Internet TV has largely been an unfulfilled promise, especially if you’re not a US resident.

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Posted by Chin on 02/24 at 12:38 PM
Entertainment • Personal computing • Web resources • (3) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Not your grandma’s Linux

REACTING to a column two weeks ago, reader Bob says that Linux is fine for his grandmother but if you want to do more than surf the Web, you’ll want to pay for your software. While I welcome all feedback, this is the kind of misinformation that needs to be corrected immediately because it could keep users from trying out a viable, free alternative to Windows and other expensive proprietary software. 

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Posted by Chin on 02/17 at 07:44 AM
Personal computing • Ubuntu Linux • Windows • Software • (5) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Job application

With so many technology jobs being axed, it’s refreshing to see that Microsoft is still hiring. One recent Web post suggests that the company is looking for someone to figure out what to do against open source alternatives to Windows, including increasingly popular Linux desktop distributions such as Ubuntu. Now I know I’m a little too old for the job, but I like a good challenge as much as the next guy, so here’s what I would do if Microsoft hired me.

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Posted by Chin on 02/10 at 07:45 AM
Open Source • Personal computing • Ubuntu Linux • Windows • (2) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Mac virus alert

THE headlines seemed designed to alarm Mac users. “Virus found in pirated copies of iWork ’09” and “Mac pirates catch cold,” news sites blared last week. These were followed quickly by “Second Mac trojan attacks pirated Photoshop CS4.” From these, it was just a hop, skip and jump away to “Mac malware tide on the rise.” Coming just a few days apart, these headlines seemed to portend a tidal wave of malicious software that was about to pummel and sweep away unsuspecting Mac users. Comeuppance for years and years of smug complacency, some Windows users clucked. Now that the Mac is gaining market share, expect more such attacks, others warned.
The truth was a little less exciting than the hype.

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Posted by Chin on 02/03 at 08:23 AM
Personal computing • Mac OS X • Security and Privacy • Viruses • (0) Comments • Permalink
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