Michael Santo
Recent posts
In what can only be termed "incredibly ironic" due to the way China and Chinese firms are usually portrayed with regards to intellectual property (IP), a Chinese firm has sued Blizzard over alleged use of its fonts in World of Warcraft. Founder Electronics is asking for compensation of 100 million yuan for the alleged infringement...
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Apple and AT&T have been sued for a second time over the controversial battery replacement plan for the iPhone. You may recall that last month Jose Trujillo of Melrose Park, Ill. sued the companies for $75,000 in damages over the battery. Monday a second lawsuit was filed, this time in California, alleging that Apple and AT&T deliberately...
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Gaming on integrated graphics? You've got to be kidding, right? I mean, standalone cards are pushed to the limit by games. You would expect that a system "saddled" with integrated graphics would be too handicapped. According to an Intel blog, with the latest release of their G965 integrated graphics chipset drivers, that's not necessarily...
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You may recall earlier in the year the crackdown placed on bloggers by the military, who said that such blogging could pose a security threat by leaking sensitive wartime information. Yet, haven't we seen huge amounts of sensitive information leaked on the Internet by government agencies? (Nods head in agreement) A series of audits has...
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Version 8 of Lotus Notes and Domino was released today by IBM. As well as new features, a major focus of the latest release is the modernization of the user interface, which some claim has been stuck in the Stone Age, and which has annoyed users to the point that Notes anti-fan sites have been created. The changes are the result of building...
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Hard to believe it's been that long isn't it? Or maybe that's not quite right. With the iPod and other MP3 players, along digital music downloads, perhaps the "Golden Age" of the CD is over, just as it reaches its 25th birthday. It was Aug. 17, 1982, and row upon row of palm-sized plates with a rainbow sheen began rolling off...
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It's coming, and it'll be here faster than you can think of it. The end of analog TV. On February 17th, 2009, all analog TV broadcasts in the United States will cease. Part of the transition process is a coupon program, whereby consumers will receive up to two $40 coupons for a digital converter box that will interface to their analog TV....
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What was that old saying? "The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated?" This appears to be the case with Quicken for the Mac, despite Internet reports of its cancellation. The Macintosh version of Quicken is s alive and well, according to Intuit spokesperson Jodi Reinman. Reinman refuted reports floating on the Web that Quicken...
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Twenty years is a long time in the computer business, and the AppleWorks suite, which at one time was the industry's best-selling piece of software, has been laid to rest at the ripe old age of 23.AppleWorks was first written for the Apple II, and was one of the first integrated software suites. It eventually morphed into ClarisWorks, and...
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While buying on the Internet is a) easy, b) fast, c) frequently less expensive, it can also be frustrating, particularly when there is a customer service issue or a return to be made. Granted, some companies such as Amazon.com make returns easy, by making the entire process of a return as easy as the buying process, and even providing free...
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Tasers are in use across the United States by police forces in towns and cities of all sizes. However, it's the latest model, one specifically designed to be attractive to women in both size, style and form factor, which is creating controversy among human rights and law enforcement groups. Police forces in the United States have been...
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The sheer number of recalls for Chinese toys has placed a burden not just on retailers and toy companies, but on consumers as well. Parents have quite a long list to go over if they want to be sure the toys they have purchased for their children are safe. But online toy companies are making things easier on parents. Online stores...
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I looked at this story and wondered if it was months old. I mean, at this point, with Windows Vista being released in January, and this story basically addressing whether or not adoption by corporations would be quick - how could it be quick after all these months? I suppose the reality is that the original prediction for quick adoption...
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It has been discussed often, yet there has been no definitive answer about whether or not video games contribute to societal violence. If you look around you can find studies that say "yes," and studies that say "no." Well, Oprah's favorite shrink, Dr. Phil, is going to tackle the issue, as he prepares to tape a show devoted to just that...
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Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine, released sales results for the different high-definition movie disc camps today - and the results were not good for HD-DVD. Blu-ray high-definition movie discs outsold films on the rival HD-DVD format by 2-to-1 in the United States in the first half of 2007, Home Media Research said...
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When people think of content missing from iTunes (that they'd really, really like to see), a majority think of the Beatles. Well, they're still missing, but John Lennon's solo music is not. Apple announced today they would be selling 16 of his solo albums on iTunes, joining Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as former Beatles with music on the...
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A recent poll shows that more and more Americans are turning to the Internet for information about health and health issues. In fact, according to the 2007 Consumer Medical and Health Information poll, nearly as many Americans list the Web as their primary source of medical information as do their doctor. The 2007 Consumer Medical and Health...
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There has been much concern over the security and privacy of social networking sites. Much of the flak has been directed at the sites themselves. But a study run by security company Sophos showed, once again, that the real security hole, lies in users.By creating a fake ID around a green frog name "Freddi Staur" (which is an anagram of...
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Quickbooks has long been available as an online service, so it was only a matter of time before Quicken was migrated to this format. Currently in closed beta testing, Intuit is planning to open the beta to a waiting list on September 10. Intuit is planning to release a Web-based edition of its leading personal finance application this...
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While we wouldn't advise you to use a leaked copy of anything, that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to give you some insight into the upcoming Vista SP1 - which, as most of you should know, has had a beta leaked to the Internet. APCMag took a close look at it, and found nothing earth-shattering (typical for most SPs, with the possible exception...
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For once it's not a Sony battery being recalled, but it is a huge number. 46 million BL-5C batteries made by Matsushita are being recalled by Nokia because of possible overheating. Replacements will, of course, be free. The batteries were manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006. Nokia has identified that in very...
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This will go over like a lead balloon - I hope. Time Warner Cable already offers a feature called Start Over in 6 of its 23 markets. This feature is free and allows you to watch a program from the start, within 30 minutes its beginning - but without the ability to fast forward. Starting this October Time Warner will offer a new service,...
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