What the iPhone Doesn't Have

On Friday, at 6:00 PM local time Apple's ever popular iPhone is going to be released. With all the hype that the iPhone has been is getting, I think that many consumers will become very disappointed with the product. When your paying so much for a product, and that product has, lets just say "crippled" functionality it is completely unacceptable. Apple hurrying the release of this product and leaving end-users with a "crippled" phone is like saying we don't care about the users' experience, lets just bring in some revenue, and having that mind set is completely unprofessional of Apple. There are many thinks that the iPhone simply just can't do, over at Gizmodo they've compiled a list of those things, here they are:

Things the iPhone Doesn't Have

• Songs as Ringtones
• Games
• Any flash support
• Instant Messaging
• Picture messages (MMS)
• Video recording
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
• 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
• GPS
• A real keyboard
• Removable battery
• Expandable Storage
• Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)

[Via Gizmodo]

06-25-07 Episode 12

On todays podcast, we let you know what's going on in the tech world and show you how to use the Healing brush and Clone Stamp tools, and also how to manipulate the vanishing point in Photoshop.
NOTE: There will be no show on Thursday since I will be on vacation.
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Show Notes:

Todays tech stories:
Pentagon e-mail taken down by hackers
TorrentSpy begins weeding out copyright content
EFF and CDT: Torrentspy decision could spell end of Internet privacy
AMD looks for fix during rough year
Vista the most secure OS, according to researcher
Leopard and Vista: Last Gasp of the Big OS?
Xbox 360 owners reporting blank video output issue
Foxconn offering sub-$100 DirectX 10 cards
NVIDIA Tesla High Performance Computing
Alienware P2 barebones on offer
V8 Engine Computer Case
EMI says DRM-free music is selling well
A Little Apple TV Youtube Tour
Apple Patches Safari Beta Browser Again
Blu-ray content protection agency certifies BD+
The ten most hated words on the Internet
100 Blogs We Love-PC World

Todays Photoshop Tip:
Using the Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, and manipulating the vanishing point in Photoshop.

No Show Today

After, much thinking we've decided that we will not record episode 12 today because our schedules are full. We will continue with our usual episode releases starting again on Monday. We're very sorry once again for the inconvenience, and we hope to have all our technical problems fixed by then.

Dell Allows Users to Refuse 'Bloatware'

Finally, a company willing to give the user the choice of having 'bloatware' on their machines. 'Bloatware', if you aren't familiar with the term is all the software which comes on a PC when you buy it. It consists mostly of trials which give the user little to no functionality, with the 'bloatware' the companies try to lure you in to buying their software. How does the 'bloatware' get on the machines?, you might ask. Well, the software companies essentially pay the PC maker in this case that being Dell to put the software on those machines. PC makers allow this to occur because at the end of the whole process, they can sell the PC at a much lower price, allowing more consumers to afford the machines.

So, after many complaints from users Dell is giving the users a choice whether or not to have 'bloatware' on certain PC models. As of now buyers of Dimension desktops, Inspiron notebooks and XPS PCs can now click a field in Dell's online order form that will block the installation of 'bloatware' such as: productivity software, ISP (Internet service provider) software, and photo and music software. This is a great step for Dell, hopefully this will encourage other PC venders to do the same for their buyers.
[Via PC WORLD]

Trillian "critical" patch released

Yesterday, Cerulean Studios, the maker of the multi-protocol chat software Trillian, issued a "critical" patch for Trillian 3.1.5.1, earlier versions of the software are also vulnerable to the attack. This vulnerability is in the character encoding in Trillian, mainly in the the word-wrapping handling of UTF-8, which is the Unicode Transformation Format used for encoding characters in e-mail, instant messages and Web pages. If an attacker takes advantage of this vulnerability, the attacker could then potentially launch a buffer overflow which would allow them to, remotely gain control of a user's system. The vulnerability can be exploited if the user views a malicious message which contains an unusually long UTF-8 string. The patch released on Monday updates Trillian to version 3.1.6.0, so make sure you update to fix the security flaws. To Learn more visit C|NET's News.com for a more detailed article.

If you aren't familiar with Trillian, from Cerulean Studios, it's a multi-protocol chat client. It enables users to use their Yahoo's Instant Messenger, AOL's AIM, MSN Messenger, IRC, and ICQ accounts all in one client. Which makes signing-in to multiple IM accounts very simple and convenient, ridding the user of launching all the various clients. I've used it for quite a while and I recommend it, if you want to give it a try visit their site for the download.
[via C|NET's News.com]

06-18-07 Episode 11

On todays podcast, we let you know what's going on in the tech world and show you how to create Pop Art in Photoshop.
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Show Notes:

Todays tech stories:
Microsoft Announces Mediaroom IPTV
Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV and Multimedia Platform Debuts at NXTcomm
Clearer picture for IPTV tech?
Apple: You can gab on that iPhone for eight hours
EU operators bemoan Apple's iPhone arrogance
Did Apple Lie to Mac Gamers?
ATT/Yahoo premium Mail adds ads; Ars writes a letter
NASCAR countersues AT&T for $100 million, moves to ban future telecom sponsorships
Fox to offer ad-supported, embedded TV content
Blockbuster Sides With Sony Blu-Ray
Blu-ray disc rot on a few titles!
Mozilla exec calls Apple's Safari plan 'duopolistic'
Battery life proving problematic in adding rumble to SIXAXIS?
Lonestar sues Nintendo over Wii capacitor design
Chips let PCs get turned on remotely
Digg-Hacked traffic sign

Todays Photoshop Tip: Creating Pop Art in Photoshop

06-14-07 Episode 10

On todays podcast, we let you know what's going on in the tech world and show you how to age a photo in Photoshop.
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Show Notes:

Todays tech stories:
AT&T willing to spy for NSA, MPAA, and RIAA
AT&T to target pirated content-LA Times
TorrentSpy ruling a 'weapon of mass discovery'
Release Candidate goes live!
Computer flaw could imperil space station
First look: Safari 3 beta on Windows vs. Firefox 2 and IE7
Microsoft, Mozilla execs respond to Safari on Windows announcement
Apple releases Windows Safari 3.0.1, squishes security bugs
New video-game league seeks mass appeal
iTunes account required for iPhone setup
That iPhone has a keyboard, but it's not mechanical
EasyJet promotes new 'green' aircraft design
Kodak boosts digital camera sensitivity

Todays Photoshop Tip: Aging Photos

Windows Home Server RC1 Released

Reaching yet another milestone, Microsoft's Windows Home Server release candidate 1(RC1) was released today. Many have taken part in the beta program for WHS and all of those beta testers, along with new sign-ups will be able to get their hands on the RC. If you are intrigued by the whole concept of the WHS give the RC a go. As for me I'll have to scavenge a system to try this on, and when I do I'll report back to you. Remember to report those bugs, doing that will help make the leap to the next milestone...Release to Manufacture(RTM). Happy testing!!! [Windows Home Server Blog]

Its Patch Tuesday!!

Today, is the second Tuesday of the month, better known as "Patch Tuesday". On the second Tuesday of every month Microsoft releases patches for its Windows OS, and its become quite a ritual for a Windows users. But most don't even notice that these patches are release due to the fact that many have automatic updates turned on, ensuring they are always patched and protected from the insecurities of the web.

This month, Microsoft has fixed 15 flaws with six patches, four of those patches are being considered to be critical by Microsoft. Two of the released patches affect Microsoft's Windows Vista, one critical patch is for Internet Explorer, and one patch also affects Microsoft Office. I'll give you a brief description of each of the critical patches, for more information on the rest of the patches check out this article at C|NET's News.com. Don't forget to patch your systems!!

• MS07-031: Critical
  Entitled "Vulnerability in the Windows Schannel Security Package Could Allow Remote Code Execution (935840)," this bulletin affects users of Microsoft Windows 2000, XP SP2, XP Professional x64, and Windows Server 2003 (SP 1 and 2, x64, and Itanium-based systems) but does not affect Windows Vista, and it addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-2218. Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution.
• MS07-033: Critical
  Entitled "Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (933566)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista, running Internet Explorer 5.01, 6.0, and 7.0 and addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-0218, CVE-2007-1750, CVE-2007-1751, CVE-2007-1752, CVE-2007-3027, and CVE-2007-0222. Successful exploitation could lead to remote code execution.
• MS07-034: Critical
  Entitled "Cumulative Security Update for Outlook Express and Windows Mail (929123)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista, running Outlook Express 6 and/or Windows Mail but does not affect Windows 2000 systems running Outlook Express 5.5 or 6 and addresses the vulnerabilities detailed in CVE-2007-2111, CVE-2007-1658, CVE-2007-2225, CVE-2007-2227. Successful exploitation could allow information disclosure.
• MS07-035: Critical
  Entitled "Vulnerability in Win 32 API Could Allow Remote Code Execution (935839)," this bulletin affects users of Windows 2000, Windows XP (all editions), and Windows Server 2003 (all editions) but does not affect Windows Vista and addresses the vulnerability detailed in CVE-2007-2219. Successful exploitation could allow remote code execution or elevation of privilege.

06-11-07 Episode 09

On todays podcast, we let you know what's going on in the tech world and show you how to create Fire-Text in Photoshop.
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Show Notes:

Todays tech stories:
Microsoft Surface - surface and gesture based computing lands
Microsoft Surface hands-on
What lurks below Microsoft's Surface? A brief Q&A with Microsoft
Wi-Fi memory cards coming to cameras
TorrentSpy ordered to start tracking visitors
BitTorrent site ordered to enable server logs, turn them over to MPAA
MPAA accuses TorrentSpy of concealing evidence
Russian ATM runs on unactivated copy of Windows
OpenOffice worm Badbunny hops across operating systems
MIT Dudes Develop Mind-Boggling Wireless Electricity
Ars System Guide: June 2007
First look: Firefox 3 alpha 5

Todays Photoshop Tip: Fire-Text
Photoshop Techniques: Fire-Text

We're back!!!!

Yup, thats right we're back, from our extremely long break. These last few months have been extremely chaotic which is the reason we haven't produced any new shows since February. But now that schools out for the summer, we'll be back in full force with new episodes coming to you two times a week, depending on how slow the news is. We'll kick our return off with a new episode today...so tune in!!!