Author Archive
Julian Assange on 60 Minutes
A decent length 60 Minutes interview with Assange. Worth watching. Still with the ‘oooh Julian Assange is soooo paranoid’ shtick. (What a disrespectful, unrealistic angle, that is.) And then there’s this ‘not one of us’ arse-covering comment (… an editorial line from CBS? You decide.) : “Some have argued that he’s [Assange] not really a […]
An insight into sociopaths and liars
This quote, from an excellent Tom Junod piece in Esquire on Murdoch’s Fox News Gruppenführer Roger Ailes, says a LOT about the trouble with trying to shame the manipulative, or liars and con artists … The pundits, the professors, the professional journalists, the left-wingers, the tree huggers, the liberal blogosphere, President Obama — they all […]
Losing respect
Both my kids have learnt sailing at our local sailing club. Last weekend, in pretty rough conditions, I helped out in a minor way when the club hosted a big Auckland regatta … a huge effort by the club, parents and volunteers, and really worthwhile, especially for the junior sailors. I noticed this quote about […]
Black Hats as the ‘good guys’
For the most part, the people who attend Black Hat [Security Conference July 2011] are good guys who are there to learn how to keep our systems safe. As noted on ZDNet, Mac OS X security remains much better than that of Windows. Mac OS X 10.6.6 only included one security fix, while Microsoft’s February […]
Refunds are like kryptonite (Salty Droid)
This is from anti-scam campaigner The Salty Droid. It’s in relation to internet marketers by the name of Jimmy Davis & Dennis Karganilla … whose product he rather, um, colourfully describes in these terms: The 90 Day Challenge sapped victims for between $500 – $2000. It consisted of three main elements :: Recycled information available […]
Double standard?
Wow. Talk about a double standard. Some tech bloggers and others talk about Apple having ‘too much control’ over people’s iPhones and iPads and the ‘walled garden’ approach of the App Store. Look at these actions from Google (leave aside for the moment that Android’s marketplace offered more than FIFTY applications with privacy-busting malware embedded) : […]
Why am I doing this? Muckraking?
Remember Cactus Kate’s description of blogging as “an utterly useless waste of a person’s time” (Soooo well put, Kate!) But her comment, of course, fits into Jonathan Swift’s self-aware description of satire … Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own, which is the chief reason for […]
Not THAT kind of PC
Another difference. Does else anyone remember the little scandal-ette (BBC report) that erupted when Microsoft was shown to have erased a black man from a photo (except for his HAND) before using the image in Poland? Well, here’s Apple (putting their best foot forward) channelling Michael Jackson’s Don’t Matter If You’re Black Or White … […]
What would you grab?
One of the unspeakably tragic deaths in the Christchurch earthquake was that of one victim who reportedly escaped from a shop with the owner, then ‘dashed back’ inside to grab her cellphone (perhaps to ring family and check on them/let them know she was OK?) and died when the building collapsed on her. We’re all […]
Good to see Steve Jobs
Good to see Steve Jobs doing his thing for the assembled oohs and ahhs at the iPad2 launch. A little bit of gloating 15 million iPads later (and 100 million iPhones!!) … well, you can’t take away from that success. I laughed at his joke about the ‘unbelievable price’ of the original iPad — “just […]
The Stenning Tweebs try to roll with the punches
Ripples of disappointment continue to emanate from the Stenning performing troupe’s roadshow/sales tour through Asia, during which the smooth-talkers (!) apparently sold platforms/products offering quick-and-easy (‘just three clicks?’) internet riches. As the ‘refund movement‘ heats up against another Shaun Stenning-fronted ‘enterprise’ (spotted the pattern, anyone?) it looks like the gang, through Ian Naylor, is trying […]
More SEO fakery … highly automated
No big outrage: Received today through the Empower Education feedback form … which asks for feedback in these terms: Send Us Your News, Views and Rave Reviews Your Comments and Questions We value your feedback. Please let us have your advice on features, content (and any bugs!). Use the following form to contact us with […]
OK. So some impersonation is acceptable, even useful
I know I sometimes rail against online impersonation and sock-puppets being used for foul and dishonest purposes (case in point: Anonymous comment vs IMPERSONATION and yesterday’s post about Aaron Barr of HBGary Federal‘s dastardly scheme.) But there are exceptions (besides Fake Steve Jobs). From The Atlantic‘s Alexis Madrigal: Revealing the Man Behind @MayorEmanuel Feb 28 […]
