Written July 2009
by Cliff Feldwick
Coming very soon to a Disney store near you – a Netbook computer. If you are not familiar with the new style of small, lower capability computers known as netbooks, this will certainly be an introduction, as you are dragged into Mickeyland by a child or grandchild wanting the newest style in Princess Pink or Magic Blue. No - I’m not kidding – those are the colors.
Netbooks are ultra-light (three pounds or less) laptops that rely on Internet applications for most of what they do. Usually with very small screens – the Disney model has an 8.9 inch screen – they are significantly cheaper than normal units, but work fine for internet access and e-mail. They run on Windows XP or Linux and have built in wireless capability. Disney’s Netpal is being built by Asus, an equipment manufacturer with long years in the computer components business, and will have 160 gigabytes of hard drive storage and one gigabyte of RAM – not shabby.
Since this unit is aimed at the 6-12 year market, it incorporates quite a few parental security features: preselecting of e-mail browsers, web sites allowed, and a “calendar” that can be set to limit the times and number of hours a child uses the machine. Parents can also view which websites were visited and for how long.
A special edition will also be sold by Toys-R-Us. Expected price is $350 and units should show up in mid-July.
Facebook viruses are back again
A newer and uglier variation of the Koobface worm is making its way around Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, etc. Again, since messages come from “friends”, people are not as properly wary of them – but just like the viruses that come in e-mails from addresses you know, it’s a scam. Often they’ll have tag lines like “Be more careful next time and get caught again” (yes, that makes no sense) or “What’s on your mind?” They will also redirect you to fake video sites (YuoTube – ah yes, that’s not quite right, is it?) and instead of viewing a video, you’re downloading a worm. Besides fake antivirus warnings, the Koobface worm will record keystrokes in an effort to get your logon information. The latest variation is also more intelligent and can often circumvent security software.
Social sites are target-rich environments – lots of information on people, too little questioning of messages. Most of us by now have heard of a friend whose ID was hijacked and used to send out fake “I’m stuck in Paris and someone stole my wallet – please send me $100” pleas. Come on people – it’s not a happy-happy-joy-joy world out there – treat these sites as the potential traps that they are and don’t let your guard down.
Would you eat this?
I recently spent a fruitful Saturday with a Rotary group sorting through the results of a canned goods drive at the Howard County Food Bank. A wall of those filmy white Post Office tubs faced us, filled with goods donated in Scout and Post Office efforts and ready for sorting. Wonderful. But our first task was finding what could actually be used. While some cans have cryptic expiration dates, almost everything now is pretty plainly marked as to when it has passed its time. Just because people are hungry doesn’t mean they need really, really old stuff, and the food bank was not about to give it out. So sort we did.
The winner(?): a can of soup that expired in 1991 - yep, 18 years ago. Come on folks – a food drive is not the place to clean out grandma’s pantry. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t give it. Thanks. It’s heartbreaking to see so much end up in the dumpster.
The Windows that will never die
OK, I’ll admit that I’ve bashed Vista as much as anyone, and urged customers to spend the money for the XP “downgrade”. But with the impending roll-out of Windows 7 (now scheduled for October 22) you’d think that XP might be going out to pasture – its now eight years old. But like an old pitcher who continues to amaze the rookies, it will hold on: latest information is that MicroSnot will allow vendors to install Windows 7 to XP downgrades through April of 2011.
Part of this is a realization that most companies will not jump on Windows 7 even if it is actually an improvement – they will want to test it for their usage and wait for printer drivers, new applications, etc. Often, especially for larger companies, this takes 12-18 months. So forcing too soon a cut-off, especially in bad economic times, will only cause people to delay or forego a purchase entirely. Not desirable for sales.
Maybe, just maybe, Windows 7 will be the new XP – an improvement that really is an improvement. Stay tuned.