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Wednesday, May 15, 2002 |
If you run IE on Windows, get ready for a big download
Microsoft releases monster IE patch. The software giant urges users to download a 2MB fix for old flaws and for six new ones, including three flaws that the company deems "critical." [CNET News.com]
6:03:21 PM 
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Pogue examines Bluetooth 1.1 and its possibilities
Connecting Gadgets, Without Wires. Three years ago, a wireless technology called Bluetooth arrived with great fanfare, then flopped. Now, Bluetooth 1.1 is set for release. Is it any better? By David Pogue. [New York Times: Technology]
6:00:48 PM
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Do you use Hotmail? Watch your privacy settings...
A story from the Eastside Journal in Bellevue, Wash., offers a look at Microsoft's recent move to change users' privacy settings and begin sharing their Hotmail e-mail addresses with partner companies. The end result could be a huge increase in Spam for Hotmail users. I found notice of this today on Macintouch.
If you want to go in and change your privacy settings, be sure to uncheck the dialogue boxes for both sharing your e-mail address and for sharing other registration information. It is this "other" information that may be even more disturbing in the eyes of some users.
While I am writing about privacy and the Internet, I want to offer a quick take on the fallacy of privacy on the Net. Since I started using the Net daily in 1994, I figured that there was no such thing as privacy. If you put your resume on the Web site, your information can be found by anyone who wants to find it. If someone wants to see where I live, what my phone number is, what I look like - all of that information is on the Net. So, while I do take some steps to deal with the flow of Spam and that sort of thing, I figure there is no way to guard most of my personal information. The real issue is not my address and phone number but rather my crucial numbers - social security, driver's license, credit cards, bank accounts. The only thing I even consider using on the Net is credit cards. The rest of it...that is mine and I avoid putting it anywhere on the Net or even on a computer connected to the Net.
9:44:53 AM
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Make better use of CD space with CD Session Burner Beta 1
Beta software called CD Session Burner Beta 1 lets OS X users burn CDs on a supported CDR disc in multiple sessions, and each session is later mounted as a separate drive when the CD is inserted into your Mac. This looks like intriguing software that could help make full use of CD space on multi-session CDs in a way that the standard OS X burner software cannot.
9:29:44 AM
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Will Jaguar make you buy a new Mac?
MacNightOwl asks that question in a story today titled Is Quartz Extreme a plot to make you buy a new Mac?.
My take on the situation: Sure, Apple wants people to buy new Macs, and as the full-time user of an aging PowerBook G3 (aging equals just a little over two years old), I don't expect that every new piece of Apple software will run as well on my machine as on the new PowerBook G4. I think that the jury is still out, and I won't be able to offer more than knee-jerk opinions between now and the release of Jaguar...
9:23:49 AM
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Keep your Mac up and running
MacCentral points out the release of the Kick-Off! 1.5 crash detection software. The combination of software and USB hardware priced at $179 works to monitor the power status of a connected Mac and to restart the machine in the case of a crash or power failure.
8:58:06 AM
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Now Up-to-Date & Contact is now...updated
Now Up-to-Date & Contact v4.2.1. - Now Up-to-Date & Contact is a scriptable PIM which is used to organize your schedule and contacts. Version 4.2.1 is fully Mac OS X native and if you are not currently running Mac OS X, you will not need to upgrade. [AppleScript Info]
8:32:42 AM
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A look at flying's affects on weather
Hot on the Contrails of Weather. The three-day shutdown of domestic air travel in the United States following the terrorist attacks allowed meteorologists to study what they've long suspected: Airplane condensation trails may affect the weather. By Mark K. Anderson. [Wired News]
I have always been a weather buff, so I pass this along because of the general interest of the topic...
8:27:38 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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