admin @ Wed, 2005-10-19 11:00
A computer/digital entertainment company -- named after a certain tempting red fruit -- has been in the news with its new video-capable digital handheld music player. Folks can now load the player with TV prime shows like Lost and Desperate Housewives for $1.99 US and even play them on their Mac or Windows PC.
- The episodes are available just 24 hours after they air. But in Canada it may take 24 days, weeks, months or longer to get the small screen ad-free shows. Sure, for $2.29 each, the fruity site has cute animations and music videos -- that you can likely get free elsewhere. But no television. The company, which I usually have a lot respect for, will not comment, so we will all have to wait our turn ... again. They won't get a free name plug on this subject until it works here!
What do God, love, sex and money have in common? They are the four most common passwords that people use according to the CERT/CC (Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center), a federally funded organization based at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Hackers, phishers and other Internet-savvy fraudsters have had a field day accessing financial accounts by simply trying the above popular passwords. CERT claims an estimated 80 per cent of all network security problems are caused by bad passwords, including birthdates and family names. If you want to see how your passwords measure up go to http://www.securitystats.com where you can also get help on becoming more creative.
Industry reports from IDC saw a 17.1-per-cent increase of PC shipments worldwide during the third quarter of 2005, well above the 13.3 per cent predicted this August. HP regained strength on rival Dell, which underperformed for the first time in recent history. Apple, too, showed significant numbers, with a 25-per-cent increase of market share to 4.3 per cent in North America compared to 2.3 per cent worldwide.
- Have we finally shaken off the Y2K curse? Although industry observers predict strong sales, they disagree on whether all this means more money for computer makers. With HP leading the way in computer and notebook price slashing (which they can afford compared to niche PC makers) and with how fast computers depreciate, one wonders whether the value is in software. Like, I haven't seen any hot sales on Windows XP or Mac OS X; have you? It's more like buying a new OS with a PC thrown in!
A new alternate-reality online game (ARG) called Last Call Poker is drumming up excitement for Activision's new western video game, Gun. The fictional story line includes the late Lionel "Lucky" Brown, who decreed some of his fortune be used for poker-based "wakes" in cemeteries.
This is cache, read story here