VFH: The Latest Views

Darth Vader Rings Opening Bell at New York Stock Exchange

A little giggle for this holiday week...

Labels: fun, news, visual, web

T-Mobile Sidekick Users Lose Data

Sounds like it's a bad day to be a T-Mobile Sidekick user. Report are coming in that all of their contacts and data are gone (gone as in, poof! you might not get it back) after a failure of servers operated by Microsoft wiped the data out.


[Update] Looks like some, maybe mot, of the people will get their data back. That's a good thing, but this never should have happened in the first place!

Labels: news

10 (Wii) Gaming Gadgets That Will Make Us Hurt Ourselves

Count me among those who just *love* the Wii. I'm having more fun with this device than I ever expected - and I'm using it more often than any gaming device I've had before.

So it probably should come as little surprise that I find myself wanting to at least try many of the things on this list. Especially #7. ;-)

Mock away...

Labels: fun, gadgets, news, techtoys, Wii

Passwords of Comcast Customers Exposed

From the article:

"A list of user names and passwords for customers of Comcast, one of the nation’s largest Internet service providers, sat unprotected on the Web for the last two months."

These are never good stories, but it's important that they don't get swept under the carpet.

Labels: law, news, security, technology

R.I.P Computer Shopper Print Edition

Wow, another one bites the dust. At least they'll still be online, but somehow it just won't be quite the same as curling up with the print edition, circling all the tech goodies you'd love to buy, much like a big kids' Wish Book.

::sigh:: Good times...

Labels: news, technology, web

I try to like Microsoft. Really, I do. But this is a perfect example of why that's so hard.

Once again they have gone out of their way to not only refuse to "play nice in the sandbox" but to once again do it in a destructive manner that forces everyone else to have to waste time/money/energy to deal with issue.

And even after the industry explains why there's a problem, and there seems to be a positive adjustment by Microsoft, they inexplicably, and on the sly, slide back to their original position.

There's no good reason for this deviation from the standards.

Seriously, it's to the point where I think we should all start sending them invoices for our time. Maybe then they'll get point. Talking reason clearly has no effect.

(And yes, I know that there are many good people at Microsoft who understand, feel our pain, and are even trying to help. My frustration is in no way directed at them.)

Labels: browse, browser, microsoft, news, standards

Amazon Kindle 2 - Thoughts and Questions

So Amazon finally posted some details about the new Kindle, with the creative name: Kindle 2. They say it will be available on February 24, 2009.

I'm intrigued by the idea of being able to "carry" lots of books in such a device, but in addition to the high price of the unit, I find myself wondering...

• am I the only one surprised that they haven't added color yet? It feels oddly retro to see them advertising "now boasts 16 level of gray" as a cutting-edge feature.


• why do they call this an "electronic paper display?" There are other options that seem far more 'paper-like.'


• why isn't there some kind of basic note taking application included. It would seem to be a logical option to include.


• when the techie books I rely on will be available for the Kindle? After running a few quick test searches, the books I like to have "at my fingertips" are not yet available.


• is there a viewer tool available so I can read my Kindle books on a computer when I don't have the Kindle handy?


• they say you can use the Kindle to search on Wikipedia and Google - is it truly limited to searching or can you use Google apps too?


• No native PDF support? WTF?!?!

I am impressed by the accessibility that seems to be built-in to the device: zoom, adjustable font sizes, the "Read-to-Me" feature, and audiobook compatibility but I wonder if that is limited to the content or if the menus/navigation is just as friendly?

I'll be watching to see what the early reviews have to say! Here's what PC Mag has to say.

Labels: accessibility, browser, gadgets, good ideas, news, technology, techtoys, visual

Carly Fiorina: Government shouldn't decide executive pay

Oh, yea, there's a shocker.

Labels: news

Dirty Secrets of College Admissions

This quote left me cleaning my monitor: "...white girls from Jersey barely have a chance."

Labels: news

Another "the sky is blue" set of research data that tells us that teens are not being "obstinate" when they fall asleep later than parents want and have trouble getting up early. It's a body chemistry issue.

One thing they left out of the article - some of us never outgrow this stage of sleep cycles. I'm always more alert and clear-headed at midnight than I am at noon.

Labels: news

FAA system for pre-flight pilot notices down for 12+ hours

Wow, another reason I'm glad I'm not flying anywhere this weekend!

Labels: news, technology

LifeLock Fraud-prevention pitchman becomes ID theft victim
I've been wondering how long it would take for this to happen...

Labels: news, technology