Monthly archives: March, 2008

ThinkFree – The best online office on Earth

There are a lot of online productivity suites out there these days. Google has probably made the biggest news as they have put together a collection of them (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, etc) after buying several companies. But Google certainly isn’t the only one. I have previous mentioned a basic collection of similar programs …

Chinese hackers: No site is safe

From CNN: They operate from a bare apartment on a Chinese island. They are intelligent 20-somethings who seem harmless. But they are hard-core hackers who claim to have gained access to the world’s most sensitive sites, including the Pentagon. In fact, they say they are sometimes paid secretly by the Chinese government — a claim …

DVDFab HD Decrypter copies DVD’s, removes protections

A month or so ago Download Squad linked to DVDFab, a program that lets you rip DVDs to your hard drive. To burn or not to burn? That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the absence of your DVD collection on your hard drive, or to take arms against those …

Ballmer Says Catching Google Is Microsoft’s Goal

From InformationWeek: Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer pledged Thursday the company would gain share against Google Inc. in online advertising and Web searching, even if it’s his “last breath” at the company. Speaking at Microsoft’s MIX08 online technology conference in Las Vegas, Ballmer reiterated the justifications for its $41.2 billion unsolicited offer for Yahoo …

Who needs IT experts? Workers take control

From Reuters: Savvy office workers frustrated that their on-the-job computer tools don’t function as smoothly as, say, an Apple iPod are taking matters into their own hands. No longer are they relying on company technicians, or information technology (IT) administrators, to choose the software needed to get the job done. They know how to pluck …

Using Colour as Your Subject – Digital Photography Tip of the Week

On Monday night I had the pleasure of viewing several wonderful slideshows from members of my local camera club. One of those was a great presentation by Karen Fulham. Karen’s photos are full of colour which also happened to be the subject of her presentation. Using colour as your subject is a good method is …

Syncing your contact/calendaring data

These days, most people have access to several computers that they use regularly. There is usually a computer at work and at home, but there may be multiple computers at either location. Although it can be great to have so many different computers to use, it can be frustrating if you don’t have all of …

Ask.com does about face

From the Globe and Mail: In a dramatic about-face, Ask.com is abandoning its effort to outshine Internet search leader Google Inc. and will instead focus on a narrower market consisting of married women looking for help managing their lives. As part of the new direction outlined Tuesday, Ask will lay off about 40 employees, or …

Jerks of the Web

From ABC News: Scammers, stalkers, online antagonists ready to pick a fight, folks who are just plain mean–what is it about the Web that turns people into jerks? One expert says the anonymity of the Web makes everyone behave as if they were in Palm Beach in April. “Think about spring break, when people are …

Modifying your “Open With” options

When you right-click on a file, one of the options is “Open With”, and in many situations, there will be a sub-menu with a few options. For instances, and BMP, GIF, or JPG file can be opened in a variety of programs, and these may all be listed. Yesterday Download Squad posted about a program …