Retromalaya.com

Microsoft cries over the loss of DoubleClick

As predicted, Microsoft is crying over Google’s recent purchase of DoubleClick. They believe that the combination of these two companies hurts competition in the online advertising space. Now Microsoft wants a review of the $3.1 billion sale of the company. They raise the question about how much personal information would be collected by Google by capturing consumer data on an unprecedented scale, and believe Google has substantially reduced the competition.

Would Microsoft be in arms if Yahoo or Time Warner had outbid Google for DoubleClick? Somehow I don’t think so. Microsoft is just doing as any other company would do in this position, biting their nails at the fact that someone else is dominating the space in which they had hoped to win out.

Remember back in the 80’s when Microsoft started the domination of the PC operating system world, should there have been a stronger voice against it?

Popularity: 2% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Microsoft

Weekend Project: Design your own iPod stickers

You know those wee little iPod stickers you can buy at horribly inflated prices? Bah. You can design your own kickass iPod stickers for a fraction of that.

All you need is some kind of graphics program and a full sheet of labels in order to pull off this quick project, and it’s really fun to see what you can come up with - the design is pretty much up to you.

Read more.

Popularity: 3% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Weekend Project

Add notes to any photo online with 2view.

2view is a site that gives you the ability to leave Flickr-type notes on any web based photo that can then be read later by friends or co-workers. To use the service all you have to have is the URL for your photo. Once your image of choice is in the system 2view allows you to place notes anywhere you want on the photo and then give your comment-filled photo a new URL that can be sent to others or embedded on your website or blog using Javascript.

Once neat aspect of 2view is that the site incorporates voting into its photo comments. Viewers can give a comment a thumbs up or a thumbs down, after so many thumbs down that comment is removed from the photo. Comments can also be layered over each other so you can literally cover the photo with all your thoughts about the image.

Popularity: 3% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Web Services, web 2.0

Computerworld publishes top 10 Firefox extensions to avoid, needs work

Computerworld has a recent article that lists 10 Firefox extensions that they believe users should avoid, with a subtitle stating “Just because an extension is popular doesn’t mean it belongs in your Web browser.” Unfortunately, the criteria used to determine what should be avoided seems very loose; everything from “so you don’t hurt yourself due to your own ignorance”, to more self-serving interests like ensuring that readers actually see the ads on Computerworld’s website.

Some inarguably essential extensions are on it, making this list pretty difficult to accept. Greasemonkey, for example, is listed as an extension to avoid. The author clarifies that at the very least if you’re going to use it, be careful about which user scripts you use. While there’s nothing wrong with that sentiment, it’s one that goes without saying for any user that is sophisticated enough to be using an extension that exists as a way to actively modify web content locally in your browser.

Similarly, Computerworld lists AdBlock and AdBlock Plus as extensions to avoid, simply because they attempt to block all online advertising. Truthfully, these extensions aren’t great for online publishers, but to be fair they do make for a significantly better web browsing experience. This recommendation doesn’t appear to be made in the reader’s best interests.

While an article that lists extensions that should be avoided seems like a good idea, it should be based on some sort of specific criteria, like extensions that have stability, performance or security flaws. A few recommendations on the list fall into this category, but the list is pretty inconsistent in this regard.

The list of extensions that probably shouldn’t have made this list is longer than those that belong on it. If you’re a computing neophyte, Computerworld’s list might apply to you. For anyone that has consciously chosen to download a 3rd party browser like Firefox, you’re probably more than capable of figuring out how to responsibly use these extensions if they have features you’d like to use.

• Read more..
  

Popularity: 3% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Firefox

Create your Windows Shortcut with “Tooler”

Tooler is a unique program that allows you to create special type of shortcuts. What’s so special about them ? They have all features of the typical shortcuts, so you can move them, rename them, or change their icons. But they also allow you to easy accomplish such tasks like turning off the monitor, restarting your PC or ejecting selected CD-ROM tray. This program is very easy to use, requires no installation and the exe file has only 50KB - so you can take it wherever you’ll need it.

• Download.
• Read more.

Popularity: 2% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Download Of The Day

Vista Tip: Repair “BOOTMGR is missing” error

One day you turn on your Windows Vista PC, and it gives you the dreaded “BOOTMGR is missing. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart” message, in menacing white font on black screen. So you hit Ctrl+Alt+Del only to get the same message again, and again, and again, in an infinite, terrible loop. You clutch your chest and rock back and forth and froth at the mouth for awhile.

Then you straighten up, take a deep breath, and grab the Vista installation DVD.

See, if your PC’s boot disk got bumped out of wack, you can often fix it right back up using the original Vista installation disk, which comes with a pretty extensive System Recovery Tool that’s got lots of options (see screengrab). Set your computer to boot from DVD (using the Boot setting in the BIOS), insert the disc and restart. Vista will prompt you for language and keyboard layout options, then ask if you want to reinstall Vista or repair your installation. You want Repair. From there Vista’s System Recovery Tool will take over, and lead you down the road to happy vistages again.

Vista BOOTMGR is Missing and the Importance of the UPS [Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen]

Popularity: 7% [?]

2 Comments | Posted in » Tip of The Day, Windows, vista

Download of the Day: Tweak VI (Windows)

Windows Vista only: Tweak, optimize and enhance Vista with Tweak VI, a free utility.

The software provides a wealth of tools for messing with Vista’s guts, including a boot-configuration manager, a CPU optimizer, browser-settings managers and tons more. I particularly like the addition of Windows-shutdown and -restart icons to both the desktop and Quick Launch toolbar. Granted, the freeware version gets you only so far; fully half the features require you to subscribe to one of the premium versions. But for anyone who links to tinker with Windows and wants easy access to various Vista underpinnings, Tweak VI Basic is a great place to start. That version is free; it requires Windows Vista.

Tweak VI

Popularity: 2% [?]

No Comments | Posted in » Download Of The Day