At the moment, I have a suspect 500GB hard drive that belongs to someone else. I’ve offered to run a diagnostic utility on it to attempt to read the data from its bad sectors before consigning it to the rubbish bin. Before I can do this though, I need a working computer. For this task, …
Feb 20 2010
IMAP > POP3 – Moving to the Cloud
Today, I finally got around to installing the RTM version of Windows 7 Enterprise on my desktop computer as I was fast approaching the crippleware period 11 days from now (i.e. Windows would start rebooting every two hours). It was fairly painless, apart from forgetting to disable AHCI on my optical drive to get through …
Feb 19 2010
Hardware Review: Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows
Several months ago, I was in the market for a new gaming controller for my computer after purchasing Street Fighter IV via Steam and receiving Burnout Paradise as a gift (thanks Roy!). Now, I probably could have gotten by with using the keyboard for a driving game but I’ve been scarred for life trying to …
Feb 18 2010
Education in the Digital Age
Over the next couple of weeks, I need to give some thought to the next course I will be undertaking as part of my Masters of Science degree. That got me thinking about how the Internet has changed education opportunities for many people including those who work full time (such as myself) and people who …
Feb 17 2010
Attorney-General: Gamers Scarier Than Bikers
In a story picked up by SMH today, the South Australian Attorney-General has been quoted having said: “I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me.” Leading on from my earlier blogs on video game classification and the attack …
Feb 15 2010
Is “Unlimited” a Dirty Word?
In news today, AAPT has launched an unlimited ADSL2+ broadband plan according to Australian IT. In the past, ISPs have been caught short for using the term “unlimited” with the ACCC with fine print about usage caps, speed throttling, peak and off peak quotas, etc. Otherwise, those who have been brave enough to offer truly …
Feb 14 2010
Rechargable Batteries – Handy or a Hassle?
Since leaving home about six years ago I have been using rechargeable batteries in various devices (such as remote controls, wireless keyboards, wireless mice, Wiimotes, etc). I don’t know why my folks were never keen on using them but I’ve always disliked the idea of single use batteries especially as people become more environmentally conscious. …
Feb 13 2010
Full Body Scanners – Are You Concerned About Your Health & Privacy?
A recurring topic that has appeared in the news the last few weeks has been about the use of full body scanners at Australian airports. In particular, this ZDNet article echoes previous concerns about privacy and how the naked images of those who are scanned could be redistributed. A good example highlighting such a misuse …
Feb 12 2010
Mobile Internet – A Great Communications Enabler
I am out to watch the cricket at the Sydney Cricket Ground today which got me thinking about how mobile access to the Internet has changed modern communication. I am writing this from my iPhone which I have also used to take a couple of photos to accompany this update. When I finished school just …
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