Rants and Raves

Before I left San Francisco I purchased six Vantec cases.

Two 5.25″ external USB2.0 cases for Blu-Ray ROM devices; and four 2.5″ external USB2.0 cases to put 500GB hard drives in.

I already had the Blu-Ray ROM drives and set out to put those in the cases right when I got them home from Central Computer, but I quickly found out that neither of the cases had the holes tapped for the bolts that held the case closed (and interesting enough, Vantec doesn’t shipped the cases closed up like most vendors).

It was a nightmare trying to deal with Vantec; they sent me two sets of bolts — they just never really could grasp the fact that the cases weren’t tapped — the screws were probably the right ones.  And even worse I’d already exchanged them once (and the second two cases also weren’t tapped).

Anyway, I gave up on trying to get satisfaction and just used some nylon fasteners that I had that seemed to do the job reasonably well — but of course the large white nylon fasteners sticking out the back of a black case was far from attractive.

The 2.5″ cases I packed away and didn’t need those (I actually had some SATA/USB2.0 cases that I was using at that point — but wasn’t willing to pay the ridiculous price to get more of those).

Last week, though, I ordered a couple 500GB Seagate drives on sale.  They arrived yesterday and I went to put them in the cases… The first package had the screw packet and worked great.  The second package didn’t have any screws and had a defect on the finish on the enclosure.  The third and fourth packages had no screws either.  So out of four drives only one had screws — and the screws are a small metric thread (and fairly long with a small diameter head) that I have nothing like.

I contacted Vantec; already knowing what they’d say… so once I dig up my receipt and send it to them I’m sure the fun will start again; the good news is I know that these cases are tapped (since I have two screws I tested all the cases).

It seems to me that Vantec has some rather severe quality issues; and simple things like insuring screws in the package that fit would be resolved by closing the case before packing and shipping it… obviously they want to save a nickle or so — and cost their customers hundreds of dollars in wasted time.

So I’ll not be purchasing any products from Vantec mail order for sure; and if I want to chance it, I’ll open up and inspect the item BEFORE leaving the store.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Computers, Hardware, Shit List, Technology by roger
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There’s been a great deal of “buzz” over hybrid vehicles being green… but for a very long time I’ve had some serious questions about just how green they are.

Yes, there’s no question that their carbon emissions are substantially lower than gasoline powered vehicles (but remember, hybrids do use gasoline).

Yes, hybrids are a significant step forward (though the modifications to hybrids that allow them to be recharged and ran totally from electricity certainly makes them far more green; and really shouldn’t cost any more in a production model).

But the reality is green isn’t just about the emission in the every day use of the vehicle — green also has to do with the environmental impact of the production of the batteries and their disposal.

Most hybrids use lead acid, a few newer ones use Lithium Ion / Lithium Polymer… neither of which is exactly eco-friendly (I’d prefer them not to be buried in my back yard, or any where near where my water comes from).

Lead acid batteries have a limit life; how long they last depends on a number of variables, and some of the materials can be recycled and reused – but you need to make sure that your community has setup to deal with those issues before you buy your hybrid.  My reading indicates that only California has implement stringent rules for the warranty and handling of lead acid batteries in hybrid (hopefully more states will follow suit).

Lithium cells appear to be a great solution.  They’re small and dense; but the downside is they have a three year life span from the time they were manufactured.  And Lithium is an extremely dangerous substance to release into the environment.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy a hybrid; they are good choices for many drivers (particularly commuters who can’t use all electric), but consider the impact of the improperly disposed of batteries, and even the properly disposed of batteries resulting from normal wear and tear as well as accidents.

Green isn’t something you should try and see under a microscope — it’s an end-to-end game.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Energy by roger
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When you install Corel PaintShop Pro X2 (version 12) you get an extra service that you’re not told about — ProtexisLicensing.

It’s alleged to be spyware that monitors your system and reports back to the software vendor.

Removing it is simple:

1. Use the service manager GUI to stop it and set it to disabled (that’s probably enough, but not for me).
2. Open a command prompt (with elevated priviledges on Vista, Win7, or Server2008) and type “sc delete protexislicensing”
3. Now delete the file “C:\Windows\SysWOW64\PSIService.exe”

For your convenience I’ve included the command to do all these tasts below; simply put them into a batch file and run it (withe elevated priviledges) or copy paste execute each line in a command window.

Odd that I haven’t seen federal charges against Corel for cyber terrorism — they certainly didn’t have my permission to install any type of monitoring software on my machine (and that’s probably true of all their paying customers).

I certainly don’t feel that companies that take actions like this are on any higher moral or legal ground than software pirates — while perhaps not as devious as the root kits many software suppliers installed, it is every bit as invasive.

Join me in boycotting Corel (and any other company that violates the trust of it’s customers)… as a former first lady once said:

Just Say NO!

- Nancy Reagan

——

disable_corel_spyware.bat

sc stop protexislicensing
sc config protexislicensing start= disabled
sc delete protexislicensing
del “%windir%\SysWOW64\PSIService.exe”

You can also download a “fancy” batch file to do the job from my server as a batch file in a 7zip archive disable_corel_spyware.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Computers, Software, Technology, Windows, ► Downloads by roger
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Computer security researchers have reported that GSM phones (the cellular protocol used by most of the world — roughly 80% of all cell phones) can be cracked with a relatively small amount of hardware and free Open Source tools.

The weakness exploits the older 64-bit A5/1 algorithm not the newer 128-bit A5/3 algorithm.  However, it should be noted that most GSM providers have been slow to update their networks and do not currently employ the more secure 128-bit encryption standard.

The result is that conversations carried on GSM networks can be overheard and recorded.

No such weaknesses exist in the CDMA protocol; nor would this indicate a potential vulnerability in LTE.

Karsten Nohl, a German computer programmer, claims he demonstrated this weakness (and published the code) to encourage GSM carriers (and manufactures) to take serious the poor security that is currently in place.  ESTI (the standards organization behind GSM) claims that this hack (while legitimate) is too complex and would in fact not give hackers the ability to listen in on phone calls.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Cellular, Communications, Technology by roger
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Have you noticed all the advertisements attempting to stop heath care reform in this country?

Mainly the ads seem to be targeted at preventing the reconciliation of the Senate and House plans to include a public option.

If you look into who’s funding these advertisements you probably won’t be surprised that it’s the health care industry looking after their interests (which aren’t your interests unless you’re a major stock holder in one or more of the insurance companies or health care companies in this country).

Patients First is a project of Americans for Prosperity, an organization run by Art Pope (aka “The Knight of the Right”).  Heavily funded by corporate American — heavily funded by the health care industry.

There’s simply nothing grass roots about them — and they do not represent the interests of the average American.  They represent special interests, the extreme right, and the health care industry itself.

Obviously the American health care industry is spending money because they don’t want their lucrative business model changed.

Personally I question any organization’s motives when they attempt to hide where their funding comes from.

Dig deeper, you might not like what you find — and don’t just listen to the rhetoric, learn what’s at stake.

SourceWatch.org

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Health, Politics by roger
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I’m a huge fan of credit unions; be they state or federal chartered; and I hate banks (all banks).  There’s a huge difference between what motivates a credit union and what motivates a bank, and dealing with even a bad credit union is generally much more satisfying than dealing with the best bank!

Personally I use credit unions when I can; and soak banks for their “give mes” on credit cards… I never pay a bank a penny further if they don’t pay me — I don’t make money for them, and my credit unions never charge me a penny (seems like a good arrangement to me) .

The quote below is from a web site that’s designed to keep you informed about legislation that might effect the services credit unions can provide to you; below it are two links to (California) organizations that support credit unions — while all of whats on those sites might not be important to you, certainly any of the federal changes proposed will likely effect you.

Support your credit unions in every way you can — and fight back against the greedy banks that feel you as a tax-payer (and a customer) should pay for their mistakes while they continue to pay the executive staff (who made the mistakes) huge bonuses.

Take back America… take it back from the greed that destroys the very foundation of our society!

As a credit union supporter, you are aware of the need for grassroots action and mobilization efforts to inform our elected officials about credit union issues. Thank you for your active support, and please visit this network frequently to stay informed about legislative issues that are important to your credit union.

Connect for the Cause

California Credit Union League

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Finance, Politics by roger
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Last week when I was outside washing out the litter box I noticed a gathering of “strangers” getting ready to pass out leaflets.

I went back inside and finished preparing my dinner… no sooner than I’d sat down my door bell rang.

At the door was a middle aged woman with one of the bright yellow leaflets I’d seen who started to say she was from the XXX Baptist Church — I immediately told her that anything being peddled door to door wasn’t worth having, and closed the door.

SPAMmers, junk mailers, tele-marketers, and door to door peddlers seem to believe that they have every right to intrude on your privacy.

But they don’t…

I’ve been doing a fair amount of research and some where along the line people began to believe that “soliciting” required the exchange of money; well legally and technically it only involves making a request.

Interesting enough there have been tons of Federal District and Circuit Court rulings on the subject; including a few Supreme Court rulings.  It appears that all you need do to protect your privacy is post either a “No Soliciting” or a “No Trespassing” sign on your property (if your neighborhood has private streets it can choose to post signs at the entrances which have equal weight under the law).

Should someone knock on your door soliciting you, you have every right to file a police report, and require that the police take action.

While religious and political organizations have every right to distribute their information, their rights do not supersede your right to privacy and your right to control access to your property.

I encourage each and every one of you to take back control of your home, your phone, your mailbox, and your email… use the law to make it uncomfortable for those who believe their rights and greed circumvent your privacy.

Tags: ! ALERTS ! by roger
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How many times have we heard that phrase spoken in old movies depicting fascist authorities in some foreign land attempting to squash the freedoms the people enjoy.

Wait… it’s not a foreign land any longer — just look outside your window.

First the US Government needed to change the banking laws to collect more information on account holders to make us safe (yeah — why didn’t they put some regulations on the banks themselves to make us about one trillion dollars safer while they were at it).

Now the US Government has implemented gathering more information on individuals who fly so that they can better implement the so called “No Fly List”.

ASIDE:  Could someone explain to me how an individual is so dangerous they cannot be allowed to fly under any circumstances; but cannot be arrested.  Is that because to arrest them you need to worry about what few constitutional rights still seem to be left, but to deny them boarding on an airplane you seem to be able to use any arbitrary set of policies you might want from day to day?

Since 9/11 this county has rolled back personal freedoms — in my opinion the terrorists responsible for the attacks achieved far more than they could have ever hoped for… they didn’t just destroy building and kill innocent people — they’ve destroyed an entire way of life that took hundreds of years to build in the matter of a few months of clueless, scared politicians under the hands of a despotic, manipulative, dishonest administration.

Just like we American’s were so pre-occupied with revenge against those responsible for 9/11 that we blinked; now we’re so enranged with what those actions have done to out economy that we’re not taking a step back and realy looking at the root causes for these changed in American society.

Maybe we need to start fixing the economy by undoing all the damage to the American system that the Bush administration instrumented eight years ago.

Let’s repeal the “Patriot Act”, end wars we entered through manipulation and mis-information, and redirect the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to insure the FREEDOM of every American before the Gestapo comes knocking on your door.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Politics, Travel by roger
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I’ve know for a very long time that many websites that sell goods and services to consumers also sell (or trade) the email addresses they register.

SPAM (Unsolicited Commercial Email – UCE) is when any entity sends you an email soliciting money for goods or services that you have not specifically requested.

Thus, when one company provided email marketers your email address (without your express permission) they are supporting SPAM, and companies that support SPAM are no better than the SPAMmers themselves since they are making money from SPAM.

But how would you know who sold your email address?

That’s easy, for years I’ve provided each vendor I do business with a unique email address which tracks any and all mail back to them.

Recently I found that a company I purchased a couple items from — CDR DVD Media ( www.cdrdvdrmedia.com ) sold or traded my email address to an email marketer.  What’s really funny in this is that CDR DVD Media uses Yahoo! (a company that purports to oppose SPAMming and hold it customers to high anti-SPAM standards) to process orders (so it appears it’s easy for Yahoo to talk the talk, but maybe they should walk the walk and actually adopt a ZERO tolerance policy against SPAMmers and their customers that support them — oh right, that means Yahoo would cut into it’s revenue stream, and they really probably only want to prevent SPAMming from free customers).

My policy (and I recommend it become you policy) is that you NEVER do business with SPAMmers or companies that support SPAMming.  Of course, I warned of the growing problem of SPAM/UCE over 15 years ago… and it’s easy for any and everyone to see now what burying your head in the sand does to prevent greedy marketers from breaking the law (yeah — SPAM is against the law in a number of states; and often SPAMmers steal services to send out their message).

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Communications, Email, Shit List, Shopping, Technology by roger
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Yesterday evening I received an Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE, aka SPAM) from Federal Express in violation of the California Professions and Business Code Section 17538.45.

Apparently Federal Express has taken to harvesting email addresses used in requesting tracking services and subscribing them to their marketing mailings lists without obtaining the permission of the owner of the email address (California law prohibits OPT-OUT policies, and requires that advertisers use OPT-IN methods).

Not only have I send a demand to Federal Expresses marketing campaign company and Federal Express demanding immediate payment of the fifty dollar fine specified by California Law; but I will no longer do business with Federal Express PERIOD.  That means I do not ship via FedEx, and I do not accept packages via FedEx, which means I don’t deal with vendors that use FedEx.

Tags: ! ALERTS !, Email, Legal, Shit List, Technology by roger
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