From: newsletter-bounces@thepcgurus.com on
behalf of Kevin-PC Gurus [microdome@seidata.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:15 PM
To: jpdurbin@jpdurbin.net
Cc: PC Gurus Newsletter
Subject: GuruNews, Volume 7 Number 26, 6-28-07
Attachments: ATT00014.txt
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Vol. 7, No. 26
6-28-07
1 Online Civility, Part 1
2 Meditation gone wrong
3 iPhone, Windows Live, RIAA protest, BBC on the web
4 Weather without spyware
5 Looking for new laptop
A few weeks ago, after my porch swing simplicity article produced such a groundswell of positive email, I asked readers if they would like to see more of that sort of topic, articles that were technical only tangentially and were more mainstream thought pieces.
At the time I mentioned some possible topics, one of which was the lack of online civility. One of my best friends emailed me that she would be very interested in my take on the subject, since she had recently run into some extremely harsh and nasty postings on what was supposed to be a professional forum.
For this project I originally did no research. I post on enough forums and read enough blogs to know exactly what she meant, so I spent the weekend back in the swing, thinking about the problem.
I’ve come to think of this thing as my meditation chair. I often sit out here to work through a difficult problem, dragging along a legal pad for notes and charts, and this problem was no different in that regard.
What was different was my conclusion, which is kind of frightening.
This is not A problem; it’s multiple problems, some of which are so entrenched in society that I don’t know if we can ever solve them.
This simple little article has taken on a life of its own, and in the coming weeks I plan to address everything from elementary education to the mainstream media to blogs to talk radio. Along the way I hope to talk to newspaper editors, radio hosts, teachers, basically anyone that can give some insight into this subject.
The Internet can be a wonderful place, full of useful information and helpful advice, but it can also be a nasty and brutish place, full of hurtful comments, bigotry, slander and misinformation.
Since this was supposed to be about Internet forums I’ll start there next week and work my way back. I’ll warn you now; this may be a long and ugly series. In a way, I’m looking forward to researching and writing it, but at a more atavistic level I really dread this.
Gosh, that was a cheerful exit ;)
Kevin Mefford, Editor
Terry Wise
Tech News of the Week
Even if you're not a big technology
buff, you probably know that the
world is in the grips of frenzy unlike virtually anything in recent
memory---the iPhone is near. But is it too restricted:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070628.TWINGRAM28/TPStory/Business
Microsoft Corp. introduced two new online services to its Windows Live
line-up on Tuesday and said it plans to release more Web offerings
this year to beef up its Internet strategy:
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2637115020070627
On Tuesday, thousands of Internet broadcasters around the nation went
silent for 24 hours. The demonstration was part of a larger movement
to protect broadcasters from being subjected to royalty hikes:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7855
The BBC's on-demand TV service, iPlayer, has been launched to further
boost the network's efforts to embrace the internet and meet the
growing clamor for television on demand:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2007/gb20070627_265608.htm
Copy us on the good stuff
Matthew Dattilo
thepcgurus@gmail.com
http://mattstodayinhistory.podshow.com
Download of the Week
This spring was one of the best in recent
memory. Moderate temperatures and no
severe weather outbreaks in the Louisville area were the norm for a
change. Still, many of you like to keep
your eye on the weather as you plan vacations or outdoor events.
Crawler Weather provides current weather
conditions for cities that you specify. Temperatures, severe weather,
precipitation, aviation weather and marine forecasts are available for the
continental U.S. A Health & Outdoors
feature gives you UV index data for the continental U.S., plus links to Web
sites offering air quality, pollen and snow information. Other features link to
Web sites that provide travel booking and traffic information. Note, however, that
most information provided is limited to the U.S. only. It’s free here:
http://www.crawler.com/products/desktop-weather.aspx
.
Art Maley
Email
Question of the Week
Q: I am looking for a new laptop. I'd like
to be able to handle raw pics
and dvd rendering. I was thinking 2 gig ram, 160 or better in HD. The
problem I have is I know nothing about the brands (HP, Toshiba,
Gateway) as well as Intel or AMD, not to mention which AMD or Intel
Chip is better than the others by the same company. I also do not know
about buying an extended warranty. I had one on my old PC and when I
did have a problem they did not fix it and then after they "fixed" it
it was worse. I have looked at Sams and Costco; they appear to have
the best prices, Sams' machines have a 1yr limited warranty, Costco's
is 2yrs limited. I started looking at 700.00 and now I have seen a
range from 950 to 1350. I want the best machine to do what I need for
the best money. I would love any help you guys could give.
A: Unless you are hung upon getting a Windows
machine, may I suggest
looking at the Apple MacBooks?
http://www.apple.com/macbook/
They are great laptops and have among other things nice tools for
digital photography, making DVDs etc. All MacBooks come with the iLife
suite of applications that are easy to use and perfect for the home
user. The "Pro" versions have more power and better screens but
are
more expensive. If you are planning on doing a lot of DVD
editing, I
would go for at least 120 GB HD.
As far as extended warranties are concerned I would always advice
getting one on a Laptop since laptop repairs are extremely expensive.
And unfortunately, yes, you have to read the fine print sometimes to
choose which one is the best.
Hash
hash@ucanweb.com
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