Media Watch

The supposed new plugin for MSIE -- the one that adds security and tabbed browsing like Firefox does -- is apparently the victim of that darn 500 Server error. 500 Internal Server Error : "Internal Server Error The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error."

I make no apologies for asking people to unplug their computers, stack them in their basements or garages and leave them alone. Because there's way too much junk tech making it to market. I know there have been a lot of tremendously innovative and pivotal technologies developed in the last fifteen years...and there's been a lot of money wasted on junk programming too. Before any feature goes into any application, it ought to be well-written, bullet proof, sound, secure, as lean as possible and agile enough for gradual amendments and improvements. In fact, until you adopt that concept, I’ll keep my money. The reasons features are released so fast & furious -- before a rock-solid proof of performance is demonstrated -- I'll never understand. It's bad business because it makes people not like your products. Write programs one module at a time, then invite anyone to try their damndest to break them. Write applications that break them. Here are two dirty little secr...

I don't know Linux creator Linus Torvalds, but I like him. I wish he'd been there when IBM was hunting for an operating system for their PCs. The world would have been a better place because I really believe computers wouldn't suck so much today. I think television would've been better off if, when color technology was developed, it had been done from scratch, like HDTV. FM would have been better too, if stereo broadcasts didn't have to play to mono sets. Beta was better than VHS, cassette was better than 8-track and grandpa was a lot nicer than dad, but people sometimes tend toward choices that benefit them in the short term. But I also think people can make new choices if they believe they can make a difference. If we vote with our feet, stop buying products from a bloated company with a bloated bottom line through bloated code -- for a while at least -- maybe the big guys will start looking at our needs as a way to a fair profit. I'm not for a boycotts, ...

You may have noticed that I like VoIP. Probably because I like the idea of paying nothing to call around the world more than I like paying 30 cents or more per minute. In fact, I think I'll be carrying a wifi VoIP handset soon, and you may see me driving around the neighborhood looking for a hotspot during a Qwest DSL outage (and judging from the last month, that'll probably be tonight). But the minute you introduce the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network largely via old copper), you start paying real cash, especially if you're in business. Telecom costs add up fast. No loyalty for ma bell If small businesses understand the importance of having broadband and have the willingness to use programs like Skype -- and trust me, they do -- then the telecom trend will move that way even for larger organizations and individuals alike. The phone was a novelty in 1920, as was the fax machine in 1980, and they're both essential to business today. VoIP will be too, ...

Your friends in the government are suggesting you pay twice into the Universal Access Fund -- the pot that subsidizes rural telecommunications -- by forcing companies like Vonage to pay into the fund, despite the fact that they're already paying those fees to their telco providers. Look, I get it. I understand that there needs to be reasonable access to telecommunication services in sparsely populated areas, but not on the backs of taxpayers tens states away; ultimately, people choose where they live. With companies like ExtremeSat, a community, a county or a coop group can provide universal access to broadband and telecommunications services. It may cost a bit more, but isn't that to be expected if you live in the boonies? Here's an easy answer to the tax: if the FCC wants to tax net phone calls for anyone with a telephone number, then don't have a telephone number. There are plenty of free examples of free VoIP applications that only require both ends to h...

(Some of this information comes from a copywrited Associated Press story.) Lawrence Vander Esch was: - Founder and co-owner of the Pizza Ranch restaurant chain in Iowa - Sioux County Republican Party chairman - County treasurer. During the summer of 2001, Vander Esch was convicted on several counts of third degree sexual abuse and sentenced to ten years. In the late 90s, Vander Esch claimed he was authorized by UNI, ISU and the Sioux County Public Health Nurse to collect semen samples for use in "postate" cancer research. He asked a couple of his male Pizza Ranch employees to donate their semen for fifty bucks a pop. And they took him up on it. Vander Esch would put the stuff on ice, saying he'd send it to the lab for testing. Then he'd claim the sperm count was too low and wouldn't pay the money. The victims say they wouldn't have participated if they'd known the truth. Now they're begging the parole board not to release the predator. The boar...

I love seeing what new gadget come out of Broadcast Supply Worldwide. This $99 box appears to be the answer to getting vinyl into your computer in one step. Say you have a turntable with magnetic outputs. This unit will accept that unusual line level, plus filter out the rumble associated with phono components. It will also accept regular line level, so hook up virtually any stereo component or portable audio to your computer for a cleaner sound. It's being sold to broadcasters, so it ought to work for you too.

Or words to that effect. A few weeks ago, I ordered Qwest DSL because I heard that the service recently came to my neighborhood. I'd used it in the past, but because I moved to a DSL-free zone, I had to use the cable company. If I'd been at all impressed with the service provided by the cable company's high-speed Internet, the thought would not have crossed my mind. But I wasn't. So, on with my Qwest tale. For most of the time I've been using Qwest DSL, Qwest DSL has been experience outages on my DSLAM, the point that marries the phone company with the neighborhood's digital lines. Not two or three outages either, and not over a period of days. No. Dozens over several weeks. Like many consumers, I've become complacent about poor customer service. It seems my objections fall on deaf ears anyway, so why bother. I'll take what I can get at this point because most companies suck anyway. But today I was presented a banner ad for one of Qwest's of...