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  1. Re:Cruft on Windows XP SP1 Support Ends Tuesday · · Score: 1

    Why install any XP service packs? I installed the original, unpatched XP on my parents' PC two and a half years ago and they've never had any virus, worm or malware whenever I've checked. OK they might be behind a firewall in the ADSL router but that's not an unusual thing to have. I've thought about installing SP2 for them but it's never seemed to be worth the effort and the problems if the system ran slower or responded differently.

  2. Re:What does your ISP have to say ? on Neighborhood WiFi Security · · Score: 1

    The BT wireless routers (BTVOYAGER) seem to be mostly using WEP. Compared to the 'belkin54g's I see (71% open), there are many more BT Voyagers using WEP (but still set to the default SSID of BTVOYAGER+part of MAC address). BT Voyagers also seem to come on a random channel number, instead of the default 11 which most equipment is set to (with 6 and 1 coming second and third).

  3. Re:I find it hard to believe that it was coldplay on iTunes Music Store hits Billionth Download · · Score: 1

    A bit too convenient that Chris Martin's daughter is named Apple? Was that part of the contract?

  4. Re:what if... on Warner Bros. to Try File Sharing in Germany · · Score: 1

    My personal limit for a real DVD in a box from a retail store is £6 (for an audio CD it's £5 for a single disc, £10 for 2 discs and £15 for a box with 3 or more discs).
    For the postal renting of a DVD which I could easily make a 'backup copy' of, I'm paying £2. So for someone like me, downloads of a movie would have to be around £1.50 or less. If it wasn't possible for me to copy the rental DVDs, I would rather spend another £2 and rent something else instead of buying something I'd only watch a couple of times.
    Is there any convenience in downloading a movie? Unless it can be streamed live in decent quality, it's not on-demand. If you suddenly felt like watching Plan 9 From Outer Space, you'd still have to wait till it was downloaded using the P2P system.

  5. Re:Dial-up does not make you more secure on Is Obsolescence Good Computer Security? · · Score: 1

    With broadband it's not too hard to have some kind of external firewall because they're built into a lot of DSL equipment.
    With dial-up, there's only the security that's built into the OS or some third party application.

    Windows XP with no service packs, updates and with the inbuilt firewall disabled, will keep working with a router/firewall device. Switch to a direct 56k modem connection and it won't last more than a few minutes.

    I've met people who are worried about using a DSL ethernet gateway instead of a USB DSL modem because they like the idea of being able to 'hang up' when they've finished surfing.

  6. Re:Don't have to on What Should People Understand About Computers? · · Score: 1

    It would be better if computers were sold with an empty HD (even if there was an OS bundled with the hardware). Even if there was just an image of a pre-built system to restore from a DVD, it would show users that the hardware and software are separate, and also give them the confidence in knowing that if anything did go wrong, there was something that they could do about it.
    People buy flat pack furniture then put it together themselves, why not let the user install the software themselves?

  7. Re:Gmail a failed tech trend? on 10 Failed Technology Trends of 2005 · · Score: 1

    I use Gmail as my main email account, with everything else forwarding to it. It does the job for me because 99% of my mail isn't personal (mailing lists that also have a web view of their messages) so I'm not too bothered about what happens to it.
    It gives me a good way to manage email (I just forget about what isn't on the first page of messages, even though there are 8000 in my inbox after 15 months).
    I think one of the reasons that Gmail hasn't got a bigger share of the email market is that many people stick with their old email system because it doesn't support forwarding to another address, and they can't be bothered setting up the POP access. Most people I know aren't interested in me sending them a Gmail invite and even if they accept one, the account ends up neglected.

  8. Re:procrastinating worked for me... on Good and Bad Procrastination · · Score: 1

    I put things off till the last minute because I don't like looking back at my own work in case I think it isn't good enough. I'll leave it until there is no choice but to write as much down as possible before the deadline, with no time for me or anyone else to check.
    Then I can just hand it in and hope everything turns out OK. I'd rather have that than get someone to check the work halfway through and say I needed to change loads of stuff.

  9. Re:if you want to be reachable... on Many Domains Registered With False Data · · Score: 1

    Nobody _needs_ to know who registered a domain name. Not even the registrar - all they need is valid payment details and there's no real need for them to store that information after the payment was made, they could simply give a renewal password to the person registering. Or they could even accept payment by cash in the post.
    Too much personal information is being stored, just because it can.

  10. Re:Who cares? on Sony Completes First Full-Length Blu-ray Disc · · Score: 1

    Serious recrimination? Yes, they abused their copyrights by using illegal means to enforce them. Now they should lose all rights for the recordings they tried to protect with this illegal system.

  11. Re:Studio Quality? on The Place Of Modern MIDI Music? · · Score: 1

    Or you could put the lyrics into this (Vocaloid Lola)

  12. Re:We don't need any (more) of this "dumbing down" on Mobile Phone as Home Computer? · · Score: 1

    If people were shown how to install software (including Windows) before they used it, they'd get a better picture of how a computer works and be less worried about things going wrong. It would also show them that most PC/Mac applications work in pretty much the same way. But most computer training goes straight for the option of showing how to use a few applications whilst ignoring even the most simple of operating system tools.

  13. Re:Sort of... on Sun President Says PCs Are Relics · · Score: 1

    People might say they're sick of PCs and all the problems they have keeping them running correctly but they still need a PC or Mac to run the latest P2P application and burn DVDs (from .avi files).
    Those are the real killer apps for the PC/Mac now (at home).

  14. Re:Who Cares ? on CentralNic Enables uk.com Wildcard DNS · · Score: 1

    Seems to be businesses who want a dot com but the name is already in use.
    The Agricultural Engineers Association use a UK.COM domain, aea.com (no web page) and aea.co.uk are in use.
    At least it's better than a .biz or even a .info

  15. Re:My Super-Bad Computer Speakers on 20 Things They Don't Want You to Know · · Score: 1

    The silliest power ratings are those advertised for USB powered speakers. Bus powered gear can't draw over 500mA at 5v so any output power rating greater than about 1 watt per channel is impossible.

  16. Re:7-zip bloats the right-click menu unnecessarily on New Winzip in the Works · · Score: 1

    4. The 7-Zip file manager opened a zip file using Winzip when I clicked on it (because Winzip was the default application).
    I don't mind the non-tree format of Winzip, instead of all these archive programs trying to copy Windows Explorer, how about Windows having the option of a Winzip style 'flat' directory listing?

  17. Re:Channel Use on Wireless Networking Speeds of 540 Mbps w/ 802.11n · · Score: 1

    I think a standard for a _lower_ bitrate wireless system would be just as useful. I know 802.11b can fall back to 2 meg under difficult conditions but the RF design is for a 22 MHz bandwidth, a proper 2 meg system with a 5 MHz RF bandwidth should overlap no channels and receive less interference.
    Or how about a super-narrowband wireless networking standard? Like 33 - 128kbit in something like a 100 KHz RF bandwidth, for links where there's no line of sight but any connection is better than nothing.

  18. Re:the hidden costs on Non-Technical Users Talk Malware · · Score: 1

    Just get one of these in those computers
    http://www.recoverystar.com/p.html
    and even if you don't you'll learn about "dumpling" and "defraying" from the web site!

  19. Re:Hey Mister... on Amazon's Special Thank-You · · Score: 5, Funny

    " Tambourine man....(buffering)...(buffering)....play a song...(buffering)...(buffering)...for me."

    That's not a bandwidth problem, you're listening to the William Shatner cover.

  20. Re:Upload, not download on Cuban Says RIAA Damages Should be $5 Per Month · · Score: 1

    If I stole a magazine and then left it in a dentist's waiting room, would anybody think of sueing me for lost profits caused by people reading it?

  21. Re:Upload, not download on Cuban Says RIAA Damages Should be $5 Per Month · · Score: 1

    How does sharing 'thousands of songs' make that P2P user any worse than someone who has say 20 songs available?
    The number of files uploaded depends on their internet connection and the time they are online.

  22. Re:At this point... on ICANN Officially Approves .jobs and .travel TLD's · · Score: 1

    How do you define a .info category?
    It's either a company or a not-for-profit site.
    Maybe .info would be more appropriate for search engines.
    There doesn't seem to be very many uses for .net, perhaps it should be used for domains which are mainly used to host other people's sites.
    I think the most useful sites often don't need a descriptive domain name. If Google used "thebestsearchengineintheworld.biz" then the brand might not get quite the respect it does, I'd expect a load of popups on visiting a site with a name like that.

  23. Re:$0.99 too low? on Music Labels May Seek Higher Download Prices · · Score: 1

    I think that if you download more than a couple of 99 cent songs, physical media should be posted to you containing uncompressed files of those songs.
    Or after downloading a couple of 99c songs from an album, some paperwork giving you permission to copy the whole thing off someone else's CD.

  24. Re:ISPs for a nominal fee? on Why Microsoft Should Fear Bandwidth · · Score: 1

    Just allow the user to go to their ISP's web portal and select the ports they want open.
    Or else ISP users who request the free USB DSL modem should get all incoming ports blocked when their account is set up.

  25. Re:Only on broadband on Clean System to Zombie Bot in Four Minutes · · Score: 1

    About a year ago, just before I got DSL, I accidently dialled a connection without having the Windows XP firewall enabled (minutes after a clean install of XP). After leaving the room for a few minutes, I returned and saw the "60 seconds to shutdown" message.
    Dialup can be worse than broadband - how many people are using an external firewall with their dialup connection? I kind of feel sorry for people with Windows XP and dialup connections now.