Mrs. Mecombers Scrapbook A blog about computers, sofware, programs, downloads, tips, and tweaks-- for the average user. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 97 3290

Articles from Mrs. Mecombers Scrapbook

TracFone 2008-01-17 08:48:00 I finally broke down and bought a cell phone last year. It's a TracFone, the cheapest I could go. I'm not away from home too often, but when I am, it's very handy. However, I have to renew my airtime and minutes before February 1st. Does anyone have any tips or know of any discounts? The airtime card is going to cost me $100! That's a lot!Did you know that every cell phone has a SIM card in it? It has all sorts of information in it, including your name, your phone account, etc. It is also used as a tracking device. The government can tell where you are at all times by tracing the wireless signals coming to and from your phone, even when your phone is off. How do you feel about that? If you're like me and you don't like it, wrap your phone up in aluminum foil. Your phone cannot be detected, even if it is on. Be aware that you won't receive any calls until you unwrap the phone from the foil.Just a handy helpful tip from the kinder, gentler computer geek. ;) ...

This is Over the TOP! 2008-01-16 11:01:00 OK, didn't we all just know this was coming, whether you've read Orwell's 1984 or not?Microsoft Seeks Patent for Office Spy Software Microsoft is developing Big Brother-style software capable of remotely monitoring a worker’s productivity, physical wellbeing and competence. The Times has seen a patent application filed by the company for a computer system that links workers to their computers via wireless sensors that measure their metabolism. The system would allow managers to monitor employees’ performance by measuring their heart rate, body temperature, movement, facial expression and blood pressure. Unions said they fear that employees could be dismissed on the basis of a computer’s assessment of their physiological state. Just in time for the new slave labor class of people (that's you and me and anyone else who is at the bottom of the employee food chain). This control-freak patent could be issued to Microsfot in a year.Microsoft last night refused to comment on the ap ...

YIKES 2008-01-15 15:24:00 I flipped out when I read the latest in security news:New mass hack strikes sites, confounds researchers; May be linked to November 2007 break-in at U.K. hosting firmA massive hack of legitimate Web sites has been spreading malware to visitors' PCs, using a new tactic that has made detection "extraordinarily difficult," security experts said today. According to the researcher who broke the news, the hack, which involves several hundred sites, may be related to a November 2007 break-in at Fasthosts Internet Ltd., a U.K.-based hosting service that in early December acknowledged that some clients' log-in credentials had been pinched....Visitors to the compromised domains have been assaulted with multiple exploits, notably one for a vulnerability in Apple Inc.'s QuickTime media player that was patched only last month. Another exploit being served, said Landesman, is the "tried and true" attack against Windows 18-month-old MDAC flaw. If successful, the client-side attack infects the PC ...

Face Recognition Software 2008-01-11 20:42:00 I was sifting through my email this evening and came across a Tiger Direct email ad. I usually check them out even though I rarely buy anything, because I love to see what the latest techno-gadget is. I was floored when I saw a deep discount for a Lenovo notebook. It has face recognition software. Yowsa. I've seen the fingerprint identification models, but not the face thing.The notebook has:Integrated 1.3 Megapixel CameraAn integrated 1.3 megapixel camera combined with Lenovo's VeriFace face recognition software can help control access to your notebook by recognizing when you are sitting at the keyboard. It can even lock the system if it determines you've stepped away!I don't know if I'd like that too much. What if you were in a fight and your face was puffy? You'd be locked out of your notebook!Besides, I've read Orwell's 1984. This is getting creepy, folks! ...

How To Add Custom Text in a Wordpress Blog Category Page 2008-01-10 12:38:00 Here's a quick article on adding custom text to a categories page for your Wordpress blog. First, a little background.Wordpress sorts your blog posts into categories. See here for the definition from Wordpress. Wordpress also has something they call a "template hierarchy." A good explanation comes from Tina Gasperson's blog:Because most WordPress themes have a single template for archives, aptly named archive.php, it's not immediately apparent how to place a text ad on a specific category results page. But never fear: by default, WordPress searches using what it calls a "template hierarchy." By taking advantage of the template hierarchy, it's easy to make a special page that keeps your text ad where it belongs.The template hierarchy works like this: if your visitor clicks on category #3, WordPress first looks for the most specific template: category-3.php. If it doesn't find that, then it goes after the more generic category.php, and then archive.php, and if it doesn't find that, ...

Easy Easy Thumbnails 2008-01-07 17:45:00 I found another terrific photo-editing program. It's Easy Thumbnails, and it is amazing!I do a lot of photographing (and photo-editing and uploading) pictures for my blogs. Because I usually deal with a large number of photos, I prefer to resize them all at once. Irfanview-- my favorite photo-resizing program, does do batch editing like this, but I have found it confusing, and I have to reset all my settings every time I use it. So I've been looking around for something easier. I absolutely love Easy Thumbnails.This little program (it's free) will resize one photo or all your photos. The default setting is to resize them all to 200px by 200px, but you can change this to anything you like. It saves the newly sized photos in the same folder, but with a "tn_" in the title. This is helpful because you won't have to go searching for your new photos (or have to make an entirely new folder to keep them), and it won't copy over the original photos. Once again, the settings will change tho ...

I'm Just So Impressed 2008-01-02 13:53:00 Have I said how much I love windows Live Mail, lol. The more I use it the better I like it! I just figured out how to show the Menu bar (by default Microsoft hides it). To the upper right hand side of the program is a little question mark button-- it's blue and is the typical "help" icon. To the left of this button is a little folder icon with a menu arrow. Click the menu arrow, and choose "show all menus." The menu bar will appear!I also love the fact that I can delete, with one swift click, the Junk Mail or Deleted Items box. In Outlook Express, I used to have to right-click, search the pop-up menu, choose "Empty Deleted Items," choose "yes, I'm sure" etc etc. It's so easy with WLM!I really like this program. ...

A New Windows Program I Actually Like! 2008-01-01 10:49:00 I have been trying out Windows Live Mail for a few days. I think I love it! I have always used Outlook Express and liked it [Mrs. M now dodges tomatoes]. Yes, I have tried other email clients (Eudora, Thunderbird, Outlook, other no-name brands) and just preferred OE.My only bone of contention with OE is that it has not been able to configure for my Gmail (no big deal; I'm not terribly fond of Gmail and all my Gmail is forwarded to my MSN email anyway). It also doesn't like my free hotmail account. Weird. So I have juggled two email clients-- OE for all my POP3 emails, and Hotmail for my hotmail account.Well! I am using Windows Live Mail, and it handles them all! I think I love this thing. But I love it even more for two other reasons:1. Every time I get an email, a little notification window pops up. I love this! I like to know when my email comes, because sometimes I get so busy and completely forget to check. This is wonderfully helpful.2. I can minimize the program into the system ...

Great Blogger How-to Blog 2008-01-01 10:23:00 MilehiMama over at Mama Says is asking for help with a new 'do. Template tutorials are always difficult over long distances (like the Internet), but there are thousands of people with websites who can help. I was sifting through my free Blogger templates links, and found a very nice and simple Blogger tutorial. Check out Blog Flak for some really great lessons and how-to's on basic template techniques. The site hasn't been updated in a while (life and writing tutorials with pictures sure can consume time; boy, do I know that!) but what is there is very good.I'm hoping Mama gets a really smashing (not crashing) new template-- her site will look like a million bucks when it's over, I'm sure!P.S. Her posts are very good! Check it out. ...

Is There Such a Thing As Search Engine Privacy? 2007-12-27 06:48:00 I was aghast to discover a few months ago the policies of search engine companies. The SEOs hold on to your searches information for inordinate periods of time. I'd read recently about a new policy by Ask.com. They are hoping their new policy will give them the edge over the giants (and you know who they are).Jumping on the privacy bandwagon, Ask is offering users the chance to take charge of what happens with their search history.An AskEraser link will feature prominently on the Ask.com homepage and, when enabled by the user, will delete all future search queries and associated cookie information from its servers.The information it destroys includes IP address, user ID and session ID along with the complete text of a query. I could wish all SEOs did such. MSN and Yahoo save the information for 18+ months, although policies bounce up and down more than stock market numbers. And when the Bush Administration demands the numbers from AOL, MSN, and Yahoo, they obediently hand it over. AOL ...

You Will Do As You Are Told 2007-12-26 11:13:00 The title is from an old Frank Zappa song, "I'm the Slime." You will obey me while I lead youAnd eat the garbage that I feed youUntil the day that we don't need youDon't go for help...no one will heed youYour mind is totally controlledIt has been stuffed into my moldAnd you will do as you are toldUntil the rights to you are sold There's a newsstory at the Washington Post today. This is just over the top: FBI Prepares Vast Database of BioMetrics.Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement here. Next month, the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. The FBI will also ...

Notebook/Laptop Reviews 2007-12-24 08:45:00 My aging little HP laptop is starting to show its age. Recently the fan rumbled and made a clinking sound. The fan runs noisily with a tinny sound that can be heard across the room. My hard drive squeaks from time to time, although this has been going on for some time now. And the monitor goes black from time to time (I think it may be a short-circuit with the connection to the computer itself). Obviously, I have to backup my stuff every night, for fear it will bite the dust before the next morning.It's been a pretty reliable little laptop for the 5 or 6 years I've had it. I use it like my right arm. It's on all day, and I use it for graphics design, web design, and writing, as well as playing videos. The battery life is shot (lasts me 20 minutes), and the power cord is twisted and mangled. A few dead pixels blot my screen. But it keeps on ticking.However, I have been saving my pennies and dimes to get a new one. I do not want this one to die before I have another on hand. I work fr ...

Free WiFi Hotspots 2007-12-23 16:11:00 I have discovered the great benefit of WiFi (wireless fidelity) these days. My daughter is spending more time at the Hamilton College library, and we often go to our local library for research. I am able to bring my laptop and continue to work while they do their research. I love free WiFi!Places where you can connect online for free via wireless are called "hotspots." I've discovered that most libraries are "hotspots." I've also learned that most McDonald's restaurants offer free WiFi, too. I am no frequenter of McDonald's, but I would be hesitant to connect there because I am overly cautious about the clientele. As always, you should take security measures when connecting to a WiFi hotspot (have a firewall running, etc).I found a few websites that will find WiFi hotspots for you. I checked out my local area and a few others, and did not see any libraries listed. I would prefer to connect at my local library than, say, a hotel, but it is always nice to know one's options. And I t ...

HP/Compaq Laptops Face Bricking Threat 2007-12-21 13:57:00 It's a big blow to Hewlett-Packard/Compaq: A hacker named "porkythepig" published an online report of a bug and consequent hacks that can affect nearly every HP/Compaq laptop. According to porkythepig's post, the Software Update bugs let an attacker corrupt Windows' kernel files, making the laptop unbootable, or with a little more effort, allow hacks that would result in a PC hijack or malware infection. In either case, a drive-by attack could be conducted by feeding users an e-mail message with a link to a malicious Web site. "Every HP notebook machine containing the HP Software Updates application is vulnerable," claimed porkythepig. "It is possible that the vulnerable machine model list disclosed by the vendor as a confirmation to the previous issue concerning HP laptops, [the] HP Info Center case, will be similar in this case." Here's the painful part: The researcher said he had tested the exploit code on Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003 and Vista, and that the vulnerabilities pos ...

A New Tool for Webmasters 2007-12-21 09:34:00 Just thought I'd share a quick link to a great new website I've discovered, Centricle. It is an encoder/decoder. You can post html code within your blog post using this tool. If you didn't encode the html, the html would "work" within the post. When I am posting a tutorial about html coding, I don't want the html to show you the results of the code- I want to show you the actual code in plain text. Centricle encodes the code! Neat! ...