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This tears it. My new $99.99 X-Fi Xtreme audio card will probably be the last Creative audio product I buy. The financially troubled company, after decades of treating purchasers shabbily, has finally gone too far for me.

What would you think of a company who actively discourages a third-party developer who has found how to return critical usefulness to their product after the company said that it cannot be done in the Vista OS? Further, Creative says that he is stealing from them by charging people to use X-Fi drivers from a Dell-specific file set to reactivate the missing X-Fi features. That is like complaining that an electrician charged someone to replace your defective light bulbs.

Read the whole sordid story over at ars tehnica.

Seriously, if you’re going to commit a Class A felony, you might as well rob a Class A joint.

—Frank Sennett; Dollar-Store Thief Bucks Common Sense;
Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington); Mar 9, 2007.

Need to pick up a little AJAX knowledge to give your website a bit of polish? Have less than a robust knowledge of how databases work? Google Code University offers a heaping helping of computer science knowledge for free. Even better, the site includes a CS Curriculum Search, which can find programming topics within materials published by the world’s computer science schools. So if you only need a specific bit of PHP knowledge to move a project along, you might find just what you’re looking for without having to plunk down cash for a thick manual. Would-hackers looking into Firefox extensions and basic JavaScript, this is a great place to start. LINK

SOURCE: Lifehacker

When your fingers touch a computer keyboard, or mouse, that has recently been used by someone with bacteria on their hands, you have the potential of contracting a computer virus of a literal sort. according to the government…

Fingers contaminated with Norovirus can transfer the virus to surfaces such as keyboards and contaminate clean fingers with the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you clean your mouse and keyboard periodically with a mild concentration of one capful of bleach to one gallon of water to effectivly kill germs.

VIA: HealthInspections.com

If you don’t see any new posts here for a day, or so, don’t worry. I will be migrating a bunch of data and apps over to a new system.

As you have probably noticed, that always takes about a week of your time longer than you originally budgeted.

This story is a primer on the new realities of the music business. Will the RIAA please read and take note.

What does the Eliot Spitzer scandal tell us about online music sales? Possibly that social network effects that have nothing to do with hardware or music stores will determine the successful business models. In other words, his call girl’s music is insanely popular on Amie Street. (Read more)

SOURCE: Ars Technica

If you think technology can solve your security problems, then you don’t understand the problems and you don’t understand the technology.

—Bruce Schneier, author of “Secrets and Lies”

You knew it was just a matter of time before this technology that had been accepted as "safe" by the public was compromised.

RFID tech grows more and more ubiquitous, fears about its safety and security haven’t dwindled — which is why we’re just disappointed, not surprised, to learn that over 1 billion RFID cards based on the Mifare Classic RFID chip are now at risk. Two different teams of security researchers managed to crack the encryption on the cards, which form the basis of a national payment system in the Netherlands and are used widely in other applications around the world. (Read more)

SOURCE: Engadget

Cities and countries using the Mifare Classic for access control and, or, mass transit ticketing include:

• Australia (Smartrider)
• Bangkok
• Beijing
• Boston
• Hong Kong
• London (Oyster Card)
• Madrid (Sube-T)
• Milan
• Minneapolis / St. Paul
• Netherlands (OV-Chipkaart)
• New Delhi
• Rio de Janeiro (RioCard)
• Sao Paulo (Bilhete Unico)
• South Korea (Upass, T-money, Mybi)

It’s time to gear it up and get ready for the 2008 Michigan QSO Party. The MiQP has something to offer for everyone and there is no shortage of reasons for joining in on the fun on April 19th, 2008.

Last year was a good year for the MiQP. Activity was up and we hope to do even better this year. We hope to see an increase in activity within the traditional amateur radio clubs in Michigan. I think that most clubs are looking for special activities and the MiQP has some features that should be considered in filling this need. (Read more)

Layers Magazine has produced a ton of very good free online tutorials on using Photoshop, most of which are videos. This one is not. However, it carefully and clearly explains a concept that is not easy to get your head around. This concept is classified as "Got to Know" if you use a digital camera and a printer, whether you use Photoshop for editing, or not.

Possibly one of the most confusing aspects of dealing with digital imagery is resolution-specifically, what it really is and how changing it affects an image. You’d be shocked at the number of brilliant designers who don’t know how to change an image from 72 dpi to 300 dpi-without turning it into a pile of pixel mush. That is, until now. (Read more)

SOURCE: Layers Magazine