Not a Review: Passengers
Recently I watched the movie Passengers. Good enough movie, but that’s not what I want to talk about here. I want to talk about some of the technology (and uses of same) in the movie.
Fair warning: Spoilers may occur. While I will make some effort to not overly spoil anything, some will crop up. If you are the type that dislikes any spoilers, stop reading now. For that matter, stop watching movie trailers. Continue reading NAR: Passengers
Adventures In Computing: Using NoScript to repair website
One of the things I help people with is their websites. The exact details of that vary, but in this case I was being asked to help repair a website that had been compromised. It was a WordPress site, and the ‘hack’ had installed a bad plugin. In turn, that plugin hid itself, and much of the admin interface. Couldn’t see it, so couldn’t uninstall it. Continue reading AIC: Website Fix with NoScript
Recently I renewed my New York State Driver License. Happens from time to time, no big deal. But I noticed an interesting thing when I received it in the mail: I had already signed the card.
Or, to put it more accurately, the state had signed my name for me. Using my hand writing. Not as a photo copy, but an actual physical addition to the card. Continue reading State Forgery
Since you are reading this, you have clearly noticed that I have a blog. Technically, I have more then one. The one of note here is Observations from Audience Land.
OFAL hasn’t been around that long, but it has already had some interesting visitors. Shortly after I made it, but before telling anyone about it’s existence, it started receiving spam comments. Not many, but I find it ironic that a blog that is unknown to any real people still manages to receive comments.
It didn’t really matter, as comments are setup to await moderator approval before being visible. Just the absurdity of it. Spam comments on a site that has not been ‘announced’ in any manner. Just goes to show, those who abuse the Internet are always looking looking for place to attack.
Pointless Computer Tricks: Silent Ringtone
I have a cellphone, as I suspect many of you do. I receive calls from various undesirables (collectively referred to as ‘telemarketers’), again as I suspect many of you do. I decided to do something to minimize that.
My particular phone number has been in use for approximately 40 years (it used to be a land line number). So a moderately large number of companies (and people) know about it. Many of those companies are making (semi) legitimate calls to people that used to be found at this number. Plus all the other junk that ignores the ‘Do Not Call’ list. Continue reading PCT: Silent Ringtone
Predictions:
Within a year from now (2017-09), Windows 7 and 8 will have lost the ability to turn off updates.
Sometime before Windows 7 End of Support (2020-01-20), ‘updates’ to Windows 7 and 8 will have made those systems noticeable less ‘useful’ then they are today (2016-09-26). Continue reading Prediction: Forced updates for Windows 7/8
Recently I’ve been asked how to do this torrenting thing. On the idea that the answer would be of use to more then just the person asking, below is an answer.
First, the quick overview steps. For those who don’t want to read a longer answer.
Quick Overview
Install a Torrent Client
Add Torrents to Client
Wait while Torrent downloads
Enjoy Downloads
Continue reading How to Torrent
Cookies are both a blessing and curse on the internet. They are essential for anything you sign in to. So shopping, webmail, social networking, etc. All useful things, all need cookies*. Unfortunately, they can also be used for tracking by other sources, that may not have your best interests at heart. Advertising companies, governmental agencies, hacking organizations, etc.
The rest of this post will speak to how to manage cookies in Firefox (version 48 in particular). Continue reading Firefox Cookies
At this point, if you don’t have Windows 10, you have almost certainly decided you don’t want it. Personal preference, nothing wrong with that. Continue reading Never 10
Intended Use: Steps to take when someone asks me to check their computer out. Not fixing any particular problem/issue, but give it a general overview and fix anything that crops up. If you’re doing this on your own, use a schedule that works for you. Shouldn’t gain anything by doing it more then once a month. Worth doing if it’s been more then six months. Anywhere between that is personal preference. Continue reading Maintenance Checklist