Independence Day (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I woke up this morning on the side of a mountain in North Carolina. I am visiting the inlaws, and the cool weather is nice. Outdoors up here feels like AC indoors in Florida.I am the most popular person in the family up here, because I brought my Verizon broadband stick and my portable router. The living room has become like an Internet cafe; I let the kids know that they better be good, because I hold the power of the Internet in my hand. When I awoke, I walked out on to the porch, and there were 16 elk grazing in the field below. So peaceful and oblivious to my presence. This quiet moment reminded me that today is the Fourth of July, more accurately referred to as Independence Day. We are a free people because we can have peaceful moments, and because brave men and women put their lives on the line for us. How do you say thank you for your freedom? I think you just say it, and go on your way.
Google App Engine misfires | Webware - CNET. Online applications have a certain attraction; no more worrying about updates to software; access to your programs and data wherever you are, if you have an Internet connection (and who doesn't nowadays?). I have, however, always been wary of enterprise critical applications that rely upon Internet access, for security and reliability reasons. If Google Apps can go down for four hours, who is safe? I will probably never completely trust my essential applications to Internet only access, unless there is offline backup and the ability to run locally in the event of an outage. I strongly support online applications that perform discrete tasks, and which keep a copy of your data on your local machines. I also support Web 2.0 software that mines data and answers from the Web and brings it to you on your local machine. Complete program and data access and storage in the cloud? I don't think so.
Apple updates heat advisory for iPhone 3GS | iPhone Atlas - CNET Reviews. Apparently, there is something to the anecdotal evidence of iPhone 3GS overheating. Apple has updated their advisory, telling customers what temperature range is required for the new iPhones. While any electronic device with a microprocessor can overheat, in the right conditions, Apple's passion for the thinnest and prettiest design causes the circuitry to be packed in tight, and my opinion is that this may contribute to the overheating problems. Additionally, if the batteries are involved, you are out of luck; because you can't take the back off and change out the battery. This reminds me of She Who Must Be Obeyed and other beautiful women who scrunch their feet into beautiful shoes that cause pain. How much is a beautiful iPhone worth to you? Maybe you ought to carry a portable refrigerator to put the iPhone in when you aren't using it?
Slashdot Technology Story | One Year Later, "Dead" XP Still Going Strong. XP, the OS that won't die, owes its enduring life to millions of users who refuse to buy the hype of Vista, and who will likely wait to install Windows 7 when it comes as part of a new computer. This extended life is a testament to the maturation of PC operating systems, and to the human tendency to keep something we are comfortable with, and that works. XP is stable, seldom crashes, and gets the job done. I feel about it the way I feel about the 17 year old car that I still drive occasionally. If it still gets me from one place to another, with a minimum of fuss, I will keep it until it dies. In these tough economic times, we all could stand to resist the call of the new and shiny toy. Of course, I will still buy new gadgets, if they are within the budget. Operating systems, however, are like tires. They ain't pretty, but if they still work, keep them.
Smartphone Fanatics: Palm Releases Security Update for webOS. Well, that didn't take long. Palm Web OS is a really cool idea; all your apps update in real time all the time, using the Web. However, as with Software As A Service (SaaS) applications, anything going out to the Net and back is inherently exposed to hackers and security risks. All that data flying around in the Intersphere can be intercepted, and generally messed with. I know, I ended a sentence with a preposition. Mr Grammar. But, sometimes, the rules are meant to be broken, for the sake of emphasis. Which reminds me of a story about Lou Piniella. Once, when he was still playing ball, he was batting toward the end of a game, and the Umpire and everybody else just wanted it to be over. So, when the first pitch to Sweet Lou was way inside, the Ump yelled, "Strike One"! Lou, visibly upset, turned to the Umpire and said, "Where the Hell Was that at?" Without missing a beat, the Umpire said "Lou, you know better than to end a sentence with a preposition". Lou took his stance for the next pitch; but, before it could be thrown, he turned to the Umpire and said: "Time Out!". The Umpire complied, and Lou, after a pause for effect, said "Where the Hell Was it at, A**HOLE"! So, when you buy that cool new Palm, which uses the Web as an OS, remember that there may be some a**hole out there, and they are doing more than messing with your data.
"Reply All" warning • mozillaZine Forums. Have you ever replied to an email message, and wondered whether its contents went somewhere that you didn't intend? Lawyers particularly need to be careful what they say in emails, and whom they say it to. Hitting Reply All can send sensitive information to the wrong people. Why not just kill the thing in the first place? Then, if you send an email to someone, it will be because you took the time to enter the email address or pulled it from your Contact list on purpose. In Thunderbird, you can do this by using the Customize feature of the Tool Bar. Right click, delete, and you are already safer. Look around in your email client, and I bet there is a way to get rid of the Reply All button there as well.
Battery Issues Likely Cause of iPhone 3GS Overheating | Gadget Lab | Wired.com. One of my pet peeves about iPhones and the iPod Touch is the lack of a removable battery. If this author's post is correct, and the overheating problem with the new iPhones is caused by defective batteries, this means that you will have to send the whole phone in for battery replacement. Oh, well. Right now, the jury is out, and I am sure iPhone 3GS users are keeping an eye on their new phones. If it is getting very hot, and you are seeing a change in color on the back, you may have one of the problem units. Stay tuned for further developments. Or, you could just buy a phone that will let you pop off the back, and swap out the battery.
Nitro PDF Professional 6.0 - Free Download. The best PDF software just got better. Version 6 has a new conversion engine that makes conversion of PDF files to Word and back easier and better. You name the function you want in a PDF program, and Nitro has it. It is fast, easy to use, and loads much faster than Adobe. In addition to the ability to take documents in 300 formats to PDF quickly and easily, Nitro allows batch processing and almost instant conversion to any format. I made Nitro the default handler for PDF files, and it hasn't skipped a beat. It is also a lot cheaper than Adobe, at $99 a copy, and enterprise pricing is available. If you look around, you can even find it discounted to $69 a copy. Lawyers spend a lot of time with PDF files, and this tool will make your job much easier and more streamlined. As electronic filing becomes more ubiquitous, a good PDF application is a necessity. Futurelawyer recommended.
