Webonaut

I have a web-site which breaks every first visit because a mysterious rogue flash app was appearing (and presumably it's creators intended to be hidden) that traced back to Clearspring.com. There was absolutely no reference in the code (or in any user entered CMS area) relating to clearspring so this was bamboozling until I nailed it down to the javascript call out for the supposedly reputable AddThis.com. I thought that I was getting a convenient way to add pages to facebook, myspace, twitter etc. but OH YES AND MORE it seems once installed on your page they feel at liberty to put any manner of junk on your site. Firstly, I don't want my pages broken. Secondly, I don't want me or my customers to be tracked (presuming that's what this flash app does) without my knowledge Thirdly, I don't know how well this (now trusted) intruder is written, and what potential security holes that entails. Hell, JUST RUNNING FLASH on a site that currently has none is a security risk i...

I make music, too - I've Got My Lithium Ion You  by  jamesleeds

In comment to the recent attacks by Chinese agencies on Google: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE60E0BC20100115?feedType=nl&feedName=uktechnology&pageNumber=4&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true Security firm McAfee Inc said the recent cyber-attacks exploited a previously unknown flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. and Microsoft's CEO downplayed the hacking attacks. "There are attacks every day. I don't think there was anything unusual, so I don't understand," Ballmer said. "We're attacked every day from all parts of the world and I think everybody else is too. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary." and Playing down the concerns raised by Google, rival Microsoft Corp said it had no plan to pull out of China. "I don't understand how that helps anything. I don't understand how that helps us, and I don't understand how that helps China," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of the world's largest software ma...

There is much talk of Apple's forthcoming iSlate . Many are predicting flop, but for me it seems like a device that needs to exist - the only reason for a flop is if it's not great to use. For example, Smart Phone web-access was guff before Apple figured out a way to navigate and zoom non-wap web-sites with ease - the rest is history. What would make an iSlate succeed? This, I believe: 1. tactile keyboard - The screen needs to offer feedback, like a traditional keyboard, when the keyboard appears. This seems far fetched, but could be achieved with designated areas. Whether the technology can be advanced enough for ANY shape to become a "key" is not so clear. This would paves the way for something I would ADORE - which is the ability to produce piano keys and knobs. Imagine downloading apps that have their own interface! Bring on the Arturia powered AppStore mini-moog... I'd shell out the £800(?) for the device for this portable wonder alone. 2. Multi-tasking. And ...

On the anniversary of the barcode, it struck me waiting in line in Sainsbury's that this scene - of aisle after aisle of supermarket soldiers steadily bleeping products - will seem quaintly odd in historic films of the future. I don't think we as old people will bemoan the loss of it though, however nostalgic it makes us. It cannot be long before we can walk through a single scanner with our shopping basket brimming full and it simply give us a total - perhaps detecting our loyalty card at the same time (if we are laissez faire enough with our personal information to have one) and debiting us after confirmation of the cost. Whether the technology that delivers this is RFID tags or something else. I don't believe we'll all be home shopping by then either, as there is something about picking up your own produce that will mean people will continue to want to do their own shopping, however much they bitch about the inconvenience. Estimated time of death? 2013

Yes, I know - I HAD to use IIS for this job, and as you are probably also aware .htaccess files do not work outside of Apache - so how to rename my .php files to .html and still get the code to run? Used to be that you had to set up a ISAPI filter to do this, but if you've updated IIS and / or PHP recently you'll realise that you are pretty much required to use FastCGI (the latest PHP installer gives you the option to not use FastCGI, but breaks everything horribly to punish you). SO once you've upgraded IIS to FastCGI and installed the latest PHP you need to do the following: - Go into that dreadful IIS manager thing - Right click your web-site and go into the Home Directory page on the properties - Hit the Configuration... button and under mappings edit / create an entry for .html - "Executable" should point to c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\fcgiext.dll - All verbs (unless you're especially wanting to lock it down) - tick Script Engine and Verify that file exi...

I'm struck by a couple of anachronisms of late # 1: Power sucking backlit screens. How long will it be before I can read my iPhone screen in direct sunlight because it uses persistent pixels - offering way longer battery life, comfortable viewing for a long while, and makes it into a proper print/novel/newspaper alternative?