On Wednesday, Google took a major step in accelerating its efforts to scan tens of millions of books and periodicals. ReCAPTCHA, a well-known provider of CAPTCHA technology, is used to prevent spammers from using computers to automatically register for online services. By requiring users to type randomly chosen words that appear as images, the "Completely…
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Office 2010 Changes
In the slew of new features coming with Office 2010, the biggest will be the collection of online applications that ship alongside the desktop software itself. Lightweight browser-based versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote, will be included, allowing users to carry on working when they're not in front of their regular PC. Microsoft says…
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Mac’s New CheckUp 2.5 Anticipates Snow Leopard
App4Mac has announced a comprehensive update for CheckUp which will both improve the interface and add other enhancements to the system maintenance tool. CheckUp is compatible with PowerPC G4, G5, and Intel-based Macs, primarily checking on disks and memory in addition to monitoring memory, CPU, disk drive, and network adapter usage. Specific rules can be…
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Facebook lets users customize the URL on their profile
Your Facebook profile’s URL right now ends in a string of numbers that is not so easy for anyone to remember. The social networking site changed this on Friday by allowing users to customize a profile URL. This will make URLs on the site easier to remember,much cleaner, and give users the abbility to network…
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Windows 7 Testers Going Unheard?
Windows 7 beta testers are disputing whether or not Microsoft's is paying attention to their feedback. The argument follows a blog post by Steven Sinofsky the man in charge of engineering the new Windows 7 operating system. He notes that in one week in January Microsoft received data through Windows 7's automatic asessment system every 15 seconds.…
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Beat Speed Traps with your iPhone
"Two mobile applications, NMobile and Trapster, are giving drivers up-to-date maps of speed-enforcement zones with live police traps, speed cameras or red-light cameras. Each program pulls up a map pinpointing the locations of speed traps within driving distance. An audio alert will sound as vehicles approach an area tagged as harboring a speed trap. Both applications rely…
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Want to Copy a DVD?
In the U.S., the movie and video industries continue to search for what they feel to be acceptable ways to let consumers copy and watch DVD content on their computers. But the end result of their efforts are often clumsy and painfully unusable -- and always laden with warnings, restrictions and Digital Rights Management software that is intended…
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Microsoft Hires Windows “Gurus” to Troll the Aisles at Best Buy
As part of Windows Vista's $300 million marketing rehabilitation, Microsoft will initially hire a wave of 'Windows Gurus to walk around Best Buy and Circuit City stores to answer customer questions and defend Vista's reputation against skeptics. Gurus will earn twenty dollars an hour or more and benefits. One way Windows Gurus will differ from…
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Sage Software, Timeslips and AccPac
I dont know if any of you other techs out there have had a lot of dealings with Sage. The fine software company who is responsible for TimeSlips and AccPac. I was lucky enough to deal with both of of these programs yesterday. One client, and I have seen this before, was unlucky enough to…
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Unremovable Infections in Los Angeles computers
So many of these are infecting Los Angeles computers lately. It isnt that they are unremovable, it is just that the troubleshooting process reaches a point where it no longer makes sense to fight infection. This is because one can reinstall the entire operating system in less time than it takes to completely eradicate the…
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