Information Salad - Episode #4

Listen this week as we “toss it up” with topics including AOL, operating systems, gift cards, and much, much, more. We finally got our butts in gear and sat down on a Friday night so we could get this thing out over the weekend. The true test will be doing it all over again this coming Friday.

Here are the links to items and stories we mention during the podcast:

• Firefox - The best browser.
• Ubuntu - Slobokan’s operating system of choice
• Skype - Skype lets you make high-quality calls using your computer and an internet connection.
• Synaptic Package Manager - Included in Ubuntu
  

  Synaptic is a graphical package management program for apt. It provides the same features as the apt-get command line utility with a GUI front-end based on Gtk+.

• Streamliner - The salvation of AOL?
  

  Now, it seems AOL has all but given up on its monthly fees, and “Streamliner” could serve to ease the transition without entirely abandoning the company’s software roots.

• Cingular Gift Cards - Is Yours Expired?
  

  So, I’m reading one of my favorite sites, Consumerist.com (”Shoppers Bite Back”), when I see a posting about Cingular Wireless, my cell provider, giving people debit cards instead of checks for rebates. Down below the post, somebody named Hasan comments:

  In CA, at least, gift cards with cash value never expire.

  Hmmm, I have a Cingular gift card — which expired in 2005. I do a little digging, and it turns out, Hasan’s right. Here’s what ensued yesterday afternoon:

• Windows Genuine Advantage (via Simple Thoughts)Slobokan adds:
  

  One of the reasons for testing the Ubuntu install in the first place is that Windows Update modified something on two of our systems (both e-machines) and since that update, one machine running Windows XP Home, and one running Windows XP Pro now complain that they are not genuine products. Both machines worked just fine when Genuine Advantage was first rolled out, but 4 weeks ago something changed. Contacting Microsoft resulted in nothing but being told I would need to fork over more money for a “valid” license.

• Conrad is sticking with Mac OS - Does you operating system free your content?
  

  As an example of his extraordinary resilience, Conrad says that he will continue to use the Mac until either his needs exceed the Mac operating system’s capabilities, or he gets a life and decides that he didn’t need a computer anyway. Conrad also states that he agrees with John Gruber’s point of view regarding the Ubuntu switching trend. “I defend the right of others to switch to other operating systems, and even to point out the shortcomings of the OS they are switching away from, but please, can we stop the whole `NEWSFLASH: random dude switches away from the Mac!’ nonsense?”

• Ipod Will Last Four For Years - A slip of the tongue…
  

  Earlier this week, Chicago Tribune quoted Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris as saying iPods have a relatively low failure rate and that they are designed to last “four years.”

  However, Kerris in a statement to the iLounge on Friday said she was misquoted. The Apple spokeswoman said she told the reporter that the iPod was designed to last “for years,” not “four years.”

• Performancing Extension Correction - Slobokan eats crow about the Performancing extension.
• WordPress 2.0.4 - The WordPress teams releases an update.
  

  WordPress 2.0.4, the latest stable release in our Duke series, is available for immediate download. This release contains several important security fixes, so it’s highly recommended for all users. We’ve also rolled in a number of bug fixes (over 50!), so it’s a pretty solid release across the board.

  I on the other hand am choosing to wait a few days to make sure there are no other patches before I upgrade my sites.

• NASCAR News - Kurt Busch Marries Eva Bryan - Congrats to Kurt and Eva.
• NASCAR News - Benny Parsons diagnosed with lung cancer. - Fight on Benny!
• NASCAR News - Current Standings
• Floyd Landis Speaks Out - Is he innocent or a liar?
• Listener Email (no link) - A listener points out that Vinny is responsible for her addiction to Fedora Core. Apparently a while back she was having a Windows issue, and Vinny informed her that Fedora Core 2 had been released, and she has never looked back.
• David Sifry Omits Something Important - The founder and CEO of Technorati wrote a list of five tips to do to crack the top 100. We discuss something he forgot to mention. Vinny references Michael Arrington’s blog
• Boing Boing - Yes, we discuss Boing Boing while on the topic of content.

Information Salad - Episode #3

This week, Vinny and I discuss everything from operating systems to the conflict in the Mid-East. We apoligize for the delay in getting another episode online. Things have been hectic, but we promise to settle in, and start producing episodes more regularly.

Vinny takes a turn at producing the podcast, which was nice since I was finishing up my conversion to drupal and my switch to a completely new operating system.

Here is a list of items we talk about during the podcast. If you would like to know more about any of the items, feel free to click the link provided. This week’s “toss up” includes:

• Apple MacBook - Vinny’s new toy.
• Ubuntu Linux - Slobo’s new operating system of choice.
• Fedora Core - Another Linux OS Slobo tried to test.
• Windows XP - The operating system millions of people are fooled into thinking they actually need.
• wine - an Open Source implementation of the Windows API on top of X and Unix.
• delphi - Slobo’s development tool of choice.
• Ubuntu Forums - The official Ubuntu forums.
• freenode.net #ubuntu channel - The official support channel for Ubuntu users.
• AOL Customer Service - Vinny gives us an update on some developments in the aftermath of his AOL experience.
  

  Apparently, someone in AOL’s Retention Department dropped a little package off over at Gawker Media. When Ben opened it, he was gifted with an actual copy of AOL’s Retention Department manual. I won’t bore you with the details of it. Frankly, it’s loaded with fake touchy-feely corporate empathy for their valued members. One page, though, really sent me into a frothing frenzy.

• Slobokan’s NASCAR Pet Peeve - Whether it was the dvr, or the NBC coverage, I missed the National Anthem. Did anyone else see it?
• Scumbag Tries To Break His Own Leg - Vinny discusses the post on Boing Boing which shows a coward who tries to get his friend to break his femur so he can get out of being sent to Afghanistan.
• Stageleft - Vinny discusses a post on stageleft.info and the coverage of the current conflict in the Mid-East.
  

  Stageleft is all bent out of shape by some photos sent to him by the Angry Arab News service. In it, he implies that the media won’t put the pictures out because they’d make Israel look bad.

• WordPress - A great blogging platform.
• Drupal - A great content management system.
• Migrating From Wordpress To Drupal - Slobokan discusses his reasons for migrating to a completely different content management system.
  

  My goal, when I started my first website many years ago, was to make a “one stop” shop for all the topics that interested me. A place where I could comment on current events, provide links to some of the more interesting places on the internet, post images and tell stories. I wrote several Christian poetry books back in the late 80’s and early 90’s and I wanted to get those online as well. I had been searching out a “feasible” content management system for quite a while.

  While I found many CMS packages that seemed to fit the bill, none of them offered everything I wanted, as well as a simple importation system for grabbing all of my Wordpress data.

• TWiT.tv - With the help of Arktyp and Lullabot, TWiT.tv has a whole new look.
• del.ic.ious - Social bookmarking at it’s finest.
• w.bloggar - A great desktop blogging client for Windows, which allows posting to many different blogging platforms.
• Performancing Extension for Firefox - A great extension for Firefox users, that allows posting to your blog from directly within Firefox. In the podcast Slobokan makes a feature request to allow the Performancing screen to open in a new tab. If Slobokan had not been so dense, he would have noticed that right clicking on the Performancing icon brings up that very option.
• Slobokan’s Technorati Tagger - A great freeware application that assists in the creation of Technorati tags for your blog entries.
  

  Plugins make putting Technorati tags into your posts quite easy but what happens when your blogging platform no longer supports the plugin, or you migrate, like I did to another platform altogether? My new Technorati Tagger allows you to create a list of technorati tags and then generate the html formatted code to insert into your post. There is no need to worry about compatibility when you use the actual html code.

• The Alligator Pit - Slobokan’s website for some of the applications he has created.
• ecto - Another desktop blogging client for MacOSX as well as Windows.
• Peter Cullen Back as Optimus Prime - Vinny talks about this development regarding the new Transformers movie.
  

  Peter Cullen will reprise his role as the voice of Optimus Prime for the upcoming Transformers live-action movie. No word yet if Frank Welker will come on as Megatron, the Decepticon leader, but Forever Geek calls it unlikely.

• People Need To Patch Thier Machines
  

  Some Myspace and Webshot ads are taking advantage of the WMF vulnerability in Windows that was discovered in December of 2005 to install spyware on Myspace users’ computers.

• Security Now - A great podcast from Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson.
• Active Christian Media - A wonderful company that connects bloggers who like to review books with authors who like to write them.
• Science Of The Soul - Slobokan discusses an email he received from an author of a book he reviewed, and how the author tries to solicit a response from him.
• Pocket PC Thoughts - Vinny talks about being a reviewer for Pocket PC Thoughts.
• Trial By Ordeal - Another book mentioned by Slobokan.
• I’ve Always Been A Yankees Fan< - Another book mentioned by Slobokan.
• Presumed Guilty - Another book mentioned by Slobokan.
• Blogosfear - The book Vinny wrote during NanoWriMo last year.

Information Salad - Episode #2

As I said last week, there were might be some surprises this week. The biggest surprise is Vinny agreed not only to do a “tech segment” but he agreed to come on board full time and co-host the podcast, which of course will make things far more interesting for all of you!

This week’s ‘toss up’ includes:

• Nintendo Wii on November 6?
  Perhaps not the most natural place you’d find such a scoop, but according to the latest issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids the launch date for the Nintendo Wii is November 6. As proof, someone was kind enough to send Go Nintendo some blurry pics of the issue with the release date included. As if that weren’t enough, the site Cubed3 is reporting that an unnamed “industry source” has said the same date.
• Slobokan’s NASCAR Pet Peeve
  The Pepsi 400, from Daytona had a special guest. Vice President Dick Cheney was there to observe the race and speak to the crowd. All of the drivers were on the stage with the Vice President while the National Anthem was performed. Again, the FOX cameras did not show many drivers, but I must say I was quite disappointed again.
• Transformers the Movie, Trailer Released
  Shortly after the trailer appeared on YouTube, it was yanked down and appeared on Transformersthemovie.com. Release date 7/4/07
• Small RAW Firms Gobbled Up
  pixmantec was acquired by Adobe
  iView Multimedia was acquired by Microsoft
• Excellent Photo Manager - UpShot
  Upshot is what Picassa could be if Google weren’t running it.
  • Uploads to most major photo printing services AS WELL AS flickr and smugmug.
  • Processes RAW images REALLY quickly.
  • Has Autofixing technology that really cleans up botched exposure / etc.
  • Looks to be about $29.99 by the time it goes on sale, but seems to be worth every penny.
• Netscape’s New Homepage
  Netscape.com is now officially using it’s digg-like interface as its homepage.
• This Mama Is On A Power Trip
  What happens when one mother decides she knows best for all of our children? Parents, teachers, and students from a Gwinnet County school believe Harry Potter books should remain in the school, so why are they even going to consider this at a full Georgia Board of Education meeting?
• N.Y. Times - AOL Said, ‘If You Leave Me I’ll Do Something Crazy’
  An excellent article from Randall Stross
• MagnaTune
  Magnatune is one of the only record labels on the planet whose music you can legally use in your podcast, without paying for a licensing agreement. They specifically grant podcasts a waiver to use their music without paying any fee to a royalty collection agency, such as ASCAP or BMI. Because they work directly with artists, they can legally do this. All of their mp3s are Creative Commons licensed, and may be downloaded at no cost for podcast use.
• Podzinger
  Podcasts are rapidly emerging as a popular on-line audio publishing vehicle. But trying to find podcasts that are of interest to us is reminiscent of the early days of the internet. Instead of using general search techniques, sites attempted to organize all the content on the internet into categories. The diversity of the available content became too cumbersome for mere categorization to be an effective means for people to find what they wanted. Search evolved to where it is today, that is, to look inside websites quickly for words and phrases. Podcasts have been subjected to the same primitive search through categorization … until now. PODZINGER looks inside podcasts, not just the metadata, letting you search podcasts in the same way that you search for anything else on the web.
• Microsoft Closes Books on Windows 98, ME
  After July 11th, those people using Windows 98 or ME will no longer receive Windows Updates from Microsoft. Watch the web shudder at the number of people trying to use 98 or ME on a daily basis.

Tags: Google, Nintendo, Windows, Windows 98