RSS 101

Rich Site Summary, or more popularly known as RSS, is a form of Web content delivery system. Most news websites, blogs and others syndicate their ever changing content as an RSS Feed to subscribers.

RSS keeps users up-to-date by collecting the most recent content from the subscribed sites. It is a big time-saver because the user does not have to visit that particular site each time. It also ensures the user’s privacy because subscription to the site’s newsletter would not be necessary.

A feed reader is a software that gets RSS feeds from sites and generates a display for easy reading. Popular RSS readers include FeedReader, NewsGator, My Yahoo, Google Reader, Bloglines and Amphetadesk.

More information on RSS at WhatIsRSS.

Image source: FTPB

Posted by Greg on March 10th, 2010

Thousands Wait Overnight At Microsoft Stores For Second Generation Zune

NEW YORK—In a year that saw the release of such best-selling products as the Motorola RAZR 2 V8 and the wildly popular Casio XD-SW4800 handheld dictionary, no personal electronics product launch was more highly anticipated than the November 13 debut of the second-generation Microsoft Zune mp3 player.

The sleek new Zune, whose record-breaking sales have made the Zune name synonymous with “mp3 player,” was so sought-after that thousands formed long lines outside hip, minimalist Microsoft Stores across the country days before the device went on sale. In Midtown Manhattan, the hysteria reached such a fever pitch that some were willing to pay as much as $200 for a spot in line.

“How could you not want one?” said self-described “Microsoft fanatic” Maria Arkin, who, like many others scrambling to be among the first to get their hands on the new Zune, expressed disappointment upon learning that sales were limited to just two units per customer. “It’s amazing. There’s just nothing else like it on the market.”

Continue reading from: theonion.com

Posted by Greg on February 10th, 2010

Masters Series M4 Analog/Digital Tuner

NAD Electronics, global leader in manufacturing audio/video components, will debut its Masters Series M4 Analog/Digital Tuner at CES 2008. Based on latest digital technology and featuring sophisticated style and ultimate build quality, the M4 Tuner delivers enhanced sound quality from the input broadcast.

Delivering interference free reception, the easy-to-use Tuner is designed keeping in mind FM, AM or XM broadcasts. In the 40-station preset memory, user can save selected channels either in front panel or through IR remote control. Transparent Audio Tuning technology selects the stations in given area. RDS capable, a two-line dot matrix displays information about channels, stations IDS, songs and artist.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Greg on January 10th, 2010

Yahoo! Wants a Better Deal From Microsoft


Software giant Microsoft offered to acquire Yahoo in January of this year, only to be rejected in February, saying that Mr. Gates’ company underestimated their value. Now, the company is being more aggressive and set an April 26th deadline for Yahoo to accept its $41 billion proposal, with a warning that if Yahoo still would not budge, they would initiate a hostile takeover for a lower value.

Since Yahoo’s initial rejection of Microsoft’s offer, it began to consider deals with Google, MySpace and AOL, but has not come up with an alternative to Microsoft’s proposal. Microsoft, on the other hand, is determined to do anything to close the deal.

More details at CNN.com.

Image sources: Yahoo, Wikipedia.com

Posted by Greg on December 10th, 2009

Password Security Tips

Almost everything now is done through the Internet – from bank transactions to keeping in touch with family and friends – as long as you have an account with a site, you are required to come up with a password. To keep your password safe and secure, be sure to keep in mind these following tips:

Avoid using dictionary-accepted words, names of persons, places or things and foreign-language words.
Avoid incorporating any personal information in your password (i.e. employee number or birthday).
Make sure your password is made up of at least six characters.
It is recommended to combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters in your password.
Create a unique password for each account that you have.
Do not let a soul know what your password is.

More tips at SecurityFocus.

Image source: VirtualTypingServices

Posted by Greg on November 18th, 2009

Top Internet Scams

As long as there is the Internet, there will also be scammers. Every one of us were surely ripped off at least once or encountered or heard of one of the many scams out there. For the still clueless out there, here are the top Internet and e-mail scams that are circulating the Web.

Nigerian scam or 419 – you will receive an e-mail from supposedly one of your contacts who claims that he or she is stuck in Nigeria and is asking for a large amount of money to get out.

Fees for a loan or credit card – a loan or credit card company will ask for a fee upon sign-up.

Lottery scams – you will receive an e-mail telling you that you have won a large amount of money in a lottery and will ask for a fee before you can get your money.

More information on scams at About.com

Image source: Consumer World

Posted by Greg on October 28th, 2009

Music and Connection

internet8.jpgMusic and technology is a good combination. From the time when Mac introduced their iPOD’s, it has become an instant hit not only to teenagers but to adults as well. Downloading music with the use of internet access has never become tedious and surprisingly within a snap of your fingers, your song are available for listening.

Today, Apple’s iTunes has become a phenomenon. There is even a prediction, that it will be the top music retailer before the end of 2008. And this is all happening because of the internet advancement. Picture out what it can do more aside from music downloading.

Posted by Greg on September 25th, 2009

5 Characteristics of Great Online Colleges

Online colleges are easy to find. You simply need to go to your favorite search engine, type in the phrase and a whole slew of them will come up. But how can you tell from looking at the site whether it’s a good college or not? Online college degree programs that are of high quality all share five characteristics:

1. Accreditation. This is the most important thing to look for with any program online. You want your degree to actually count for something in the real world.
2. Different degrees. You want to find a school that offers Associates, Bachelors and higher education degrees. One size does not fit all.
3. Specific programs. You probably shouldn’t just get a general liberal arts degree online. Look for programs that give you specific skills in a career field that interests you.
4. Financial aid assistance. A good college helps you pay for your education. Many online programs fail to do this but a good one will help you out.
5. Resources. The Internet offers a sea of resources so there’s no reason that a college online shouldn’t link you to them.

Source: buzzautopilot.com

Posted by Greg on August 28th, 2009

Internet-less India and Middle East


If you have personal or business contacts from the Middle East or India, don’t expect to hear from them via-electronic mail or private messages coming from them for a week or so. The reason being that they have been disconnected from the World Wide Web; it’s not because of some strict government crackdown or terrorist activity, but rather because of two damaged undersea cables in the Mediterranean.

There was disruption to 70% of the nationwide network in Egypt, and India suffered up to 60% disruption.
UK firms such as British Airways have told the BBC that call centres have been affected by the outage.
Industry experts said it could take up to one week to repair the damaged cables and resume full service.
International telephone calls, which have also been affected, are being rerouted to work around the problem.

Repairs are currently being done as we speak. In the meantime, go out and experience real life for a change.

Source

Posted by editor on July 31st, 2009

US ISP Pricewert Cut Off

Federal Trades CommissionIn US, an allegedly isolated ISP for malicious attacks and content has been shut down and tagged as a “black hat” or “attack” site by the US FTC that says it has ample evidence to do so. The company is allegedly hosting many malicious sites that have been determined to be one of the US’s havens for such criminal activity. The hosting firm has of course absolutely denied this and say they are willing to take the case to court. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Greg on June 9th, 2009