bitbol

Google is taking a big step forward with their newest option to take the services you use offline. They have just released Google Gears, which allows you to use the services even without an internet connection. In my case, it offers to store 2000 items from Google reader for reading offline.

This is where Google's word processor really comes to compete with Microsoft word, but not just yet. Documents aren't yet supported by this program, but I expect that will be in due time.

Labels: Google, Internet

Hilary Clinton is maintaining a star position in the democratic primaries. She holds 35% support, while second place is held by Barack Obama with 26% support. However, Clinton does not have much overall support compared to Obama. From the article:

Obama continues to enjoy the highest level of core support among all candidates in either party. Thirty-three percent (33%) would definitely vote for Obama while 38% would definitely vote against. For Edwards, the numbers are 27% definitely for and 35% definitely against. Clinton has solid support from 28% but 47% say they would definitely vote against her.

In the larger picture, Obama has more support than Clinton. Also, Clinton has a larger portion of people who would prefer not to see her in office. With 47% of people strongly against her, that leaves a very small margin to work with.

Labels: America, Clinton, News, Obama, Politics, President '08

It couldn't be said any more directly than this: Bush has no intention of leaving Iraq. Bush wants to model Iraq after South Korea, with the long-term occupation that keeps the peace. There's only one major difference between the two: Korea has stopped fighting, where Iraq has not.

Furthermore, North and South Korea have improving relations, whereas Iraq is getting progressively worse with time. In Korea, we sided with South Korea, while in Iraq we have no allies. Bush's plan simply will not work, and is still not what people want to see.

Labels: America, Bush, Iraq, News

I was just catching up on some of the news, and I came across a video about Ron Paul in one of the debates. I figured that since he has been talked about so much, I should at least watch the clip. If you watch it, you'll see that he makes a lot of sense:

"If we think that we can do what we want around the world and not incite hatred, then we have a problem. They don't come here and attack us because we're rich and we're free. They attack us because we're over there."

Admittedly, he is a republican candidate, but he is the only republican candidate that I would even consider voting for. He, at the very least, considers the side-effects of what we are doing. He sees that the reason people hate us is for attacking them. If we left them alone, the would leave us alone. Don't poke at the sleeping dog.

Unfortunately for Ron Paul, he does not fair well in the polls. He is lagging too far behind to be able to catch up. To me, Ron Paul is the only republican candidate that makes any sense, and the only one that I would trust in office.

Labels: Paul, Politics, President '08

Wordpress.com, the hosted alternative to Blogger, has finally passed 1 million blogs. This is great news for wordpress, simply because it is such a monumental number. There is no way to compare this to Blogger, as blogger has no such statistics, and is much more vulnerable to spam blogs than wordpress seems to be.

Labels: Internet, Wordpress

Digg, a community comprised of tech savvy individuals, has recently gone nuts for monitors. It started with Al Gore's triple head Mac setup in TIME magazine. Then again today, where there was a blog post on more awesome Mac setups.

All this got me to thinking about myself. Since I have little intention of working on any type of online work, only to have it disrupted by school, I am holding off on any new computer. But when I do, here's what's going to happen:

Apple: This will likely be the first computer I will be getting, and it won't happen until next summer when I get it on my way to college. It will be a Macbook (possibly Pro). I will need it for the portability, as well as music.

I was just talking to one of my friends today, and she said that "once you go Mac, you don't go back." Apart from windows users not understanding the OSX interface, I have never heard anything bad about Apple computers.

PC: This one has room to sway. Right now I am planning a second computer to be a Linux computer, with Dell hardware, but this can change if I fall in love with the Macs, where I might just beef up the displays. Going on the Linux plan, it will be at least a dual head system, and each of the monitors would be a 22-inch widescreen. If it were to end up being a Mac, it would be like Nate Whitehill's, where the laptop would power the monitor:


Everything could change with time. I'm looking at trying to have two computers while in college. Right now, I am trying to find a way to add a second monitor to the family desktop that I use now, but it might obstruct the TV right next to it; there is a delicate balance. I also need to find drivers for the monitor, which is hard because it is somewhat dated.

Labels: Apple, Computer, Linux, Rambling

A gay flamingo couple has adopted a chick after it was abandoned by the mother. People say that homosexuality is "unnatural," but here it is occurring in nature. And it makes perfect sense too. The real mother left the chick, and a willing couple (although gay) stepped in to raise it.

People today make such a big deal out of homosexuality; it's ridiculous. Rather than have kids float around in foster homes or whatnot else, let the willing adopt them. Gay parents can be just as good as anyone else. To the child, I doubt they would care if they had two mothers/fathers as long as they had people who loved and cared for them.

Labels: Gay, News

Former President Jimmy Carter is calling the Bush administration "the worst in history", especially in foreign policy. From a logical standpoint, Carter has a much better say in this. He was once a president, so he knows better than you or I how the government actually works. Based on that, he has a better judgment for when someone simply sucks.

I was talking to my dad about this, and he said that Carter was particularly strong in foreign policy, but lacked the same power over local (US) affairs. On the other hand, Bush doesn't work well with either foreign or local issues.

Labels: America, Bush, News, Politics

I left my computer on this afternoon. Firefox was open with a few tabs. No other programs were open, but my computer became so sluggish that no videos would play right. I opened the task manager to see what was going on.

I sorted the processes by memory usage and found Firefox was the culprit. I have since restarted the program, so it is now only using about a quarter of the memory that it was. I find this to be a big weakness of Firefox. I have known of the issue though reading online, but now I see the problem. I can only imagine if I were to leave it open all night.

Labels: Computer, FireFox, Rambling

It's fairly easy to see who has a chance in this up-coming election. Those with just one percent or less aren't worth mentioning. Others need to choose their sides carefully. Here's my take on the current front-runners:

Obama: Obama has to be one of the best candidates at this time. He is very charismatic, and honest. He is strongly opposed to the war, and even campaigned to pressure for a signing of the Iraq funding bill.

While Obama opposes gay marriage, he does support civil unions. At the very least, there is record of him voting "no" to the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. This weighs in heavily; everyone should have equal rights.

Obama is also supporting tax reform. He opposes the Bush tax cuts for businesses exporting jobs. He also plans to make financial policies made to make progress in the economy, not breaks for the rich.

Clinton: Hillary Clinton has one strong point: her husband previously held that position. With Bill Clinton's influence, there is some experience already present. Even still, that is not enough to get her the job.

While looking through her record, I saw that she voted to extend social security coverage to illegal immigrants. While I respect illegal immigrants as people, I don't believe that they deserve all of the services of the country until they become citizens, especially when they only serve as a financial drain. If they don't pay in, they shouldn't get out.

To date, Clinton has presented no prominent information. Much of the only reason I know the name is the relation to Bill. Apart from that, I do not hear much of anything about her, but no news may be good news.

Edwards: John Edwards is a man in a bind. His wife has cancer, and that could be his big downfall. Not only do many people feel that he should spend the time with family rather than campaign, but others predict that it could easily distract him from the job.

I do respect Edwards and his positions on the high-profile issues. He is for the right to have an abortion. He is for stem-cell research, which is where the US is falling behind most other countries. One thing that I don't like is his attitude on gay marriage; he would prefer leaving it to states to discriminate.

Giuliani: Rudy Giuliani, apart from having a hard to spell name, does not have much of a campaign. Much of the headlines he makes are about 9/11, terrorism, and blaming the democratic party. His most recent blunder was asserting that Americans should submit to the government. Giuliani has built his campaign on fear, and not much else. He even endorses torture.

Apart from that, Giuliani is a pro-choice republican (irony?). He would allow abortions, he has even said that he is for gay-rights, so his head is in the right place. Either way though, his scare-tactics and other follies make me want to avoid him.

McCain: Oh, where to start? How about "it is safe" in Iraq, which he is now trying to defend. He is strongly for the war, making me strongly against him.

McCain states that he would like to ban abortion, showing that he is not thinking. Making abortion illegal only makes people do it illegally, just like people will do drugs regardless of legality, it's just a matter of whether Congress would like it done in a sterile hospital or in the back of a van.

However not all is bad. He would like to use the power of the veto to reduce governmental spending. On the other hand, he also proposed a tax-cut plan that would cut $500 billion over ten years. So that means vetoing bills so that he cut taxes. Smart.

Romney: Romney is the republican flip-flopper. He was for abortion while governor of Massachusetts, but now opposes it. He is strongly against gay-marriage, eliminating him from any of my choices.

Romney says that his "pledge" is to not raise taxes, but most people know how this turned out for HWBush. From video clips in the news, I feel that Romney has too much intent to incorporate religious values into the government, which is a bad idea and even something the founding fathers opposed.

General criteria: In order for me to even consider many of the candidates, they have to support gay marriage, or at the very least, support civil unions. A candidate who opposes both is a candidate the won't get my vote. Another interest point is that they must oppose the Iraq war. We haven't made any progress in the past years, and it's time we accept that fate. Bonus points go to candidates who support tax reform so that the rich get taxed and relieve the middle class.

--Most information from YourNextPresident.

Labels: America, Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani, McCain, Obama, Politics, President '08, Romney

Google has finally made it easier to access all of the services they offer. Now, the Google homepage has a bar of links for different search divisions (web, images, etc). There is also a drop down for the lesser-used items like patent search, calendar, etc.

Now that we have this, what I want to see is a "smart" link bar. By that I mean, links to the services you use the most are the most prominent. The other option would be to allow people to individually select what links they would like to show up in the link bar.

Labels: Google, Internet

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has said that he supports waterboarding as means to get information from detainees. Torture as a method of gaining information is a very questionable device, which may end up alienating some of the few supporters he has. What he said:

I would tell the people who had to do the interrogation to use every method they can think of.

Who is to say that the people being interrogated/tortured actually know the information you want? Given this was in reference to a hypothetical situation, how do we know that that is the only time it would be used? How can you trust this information when many will lie simply to stop the torture?

Labels: America, Giuliani, News, Politics, President '08

Bush is a little worried about his upcoming trip to Sydney. So much so that they will follow the motorcade with a helicopter loaded with signal jamming equipment to stop bombs triggered by phones. Is the US image so bad that we need to do this?

Labels: Bush, News

Alberto "I-don't-recall" Gonzales has announced a new bill that would make a crime of "attempted" copyright infringement. Of the many things that the bill does is to extend the penalties of the already controversial DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). The bill is severely one-sided in favor of the recording industry and motion picture industry. It does nothing to protect fair use, which is the one thing that consumers should get out of these laws.

It is fairly obvious that the bill is partially intended to make wiretaps and warrants easier to get. "Attempted copyright infringement" is wide-open to abuse. For all anyone knows, "attempted" could mean anything, even the possession of LimeWire with no other files. I want to see this shot down quickly, as it would ruin fair use, and criminalize almost everyone.

Labels: America, Copyright, Legal, News, Politics

Microsoft is making their first step against Linux as they say that Linux violates 235+ patents. Microsoft wants to collect royalties from all Linux users for the patents that they allegedly violate through their use of the software. Still, nothing has been proven to be in violation.

The way I see this, Microsoft is trying to compensate for their lack of Vista sales by begging for money. I would expect that if this were to go to court, half of the patents would be thrown out as obvious. Others still would likely be ignored because Linux used the technology prior to the filing. This would only leave a few to fight over. But here is an interesting quote from the article:

The Redmond behemoth asserts that one reason free software is of such high quality is that it violates more than 200 of Microsoft's patents.

How is it that if Linux is stealing from Microsoft, that they are so much better? Linux is a much more stable platform than Windows. The only thing that Microsoft has going for them is their marketshare, pocketbook, and not much else.

Labels: Legal, Linux, Microsoft, News

John McCain is now trying to make up for his visit to Baghdad, where he said that "it is safe" in Iraq. He now says that he did not want all of the protection, but it was given to him by the general. He is trying to fix the mistakes that he has already made.

The thing that got everybody up in arms was not the fact that he had the protection, but that he had all of the protection, then proceeded to say that it was safe to walk through the market. It was his own big mouth that ruined the trip for him. If he had said any other thing, it likely wouldn't have mattered. Maybe next time he will choose his words a little better.

Labels: McCain, News, Politics, President '08

Michael Moore, the man behind hits like Fahrenheit 9/11, has been subjected to an investigation regarding his most recent trip to Cuba. Moore has written a letter to the Department of the Treasury, which is heading the investigation. Moore took a small group of 9/11 heroes to Cuba, where they received better health-care than they currently get in the US.

I applaud what Moore is doing. Our own health care system is ignoring the people that risked their lives to save others on that terrible September morning. It is also pathetic that you can get better health care from Cuba than in your own country.

Lee Iacocca has the right idea of Cuba in his book:

Speaking of talking, I wish someone would explain to me why we're still fighting a cold war with Cuba. JFK broke off relations and established a trade embargo against Cuba in 1961, at a time when Fidel Castro's collaboration with the Soviet Union presented a real threat to our shores. But does anyone honestly believe that Cuba poses any threat whatsoever in 2007?

Why are we stopping all trade? Why does it matter? Why is the US being such a dick about something forty years ago? Can't we just make some effort to get along?

Labels: Michael Moore, Movie, Politics

With the Macbook and Macbook Pro duo, Apple has taken 10 percent of laptop sales in March. I just have to wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that people like myself not wanting anything to do with Vista- that they are getting a larger share.

The next laptop I plan on getting is going to be a Macbook. I have no problem ditching the years of learning the ins and outs of the Windows operating system. Apples look nice and come with a bundle of usable software (not craplets), which is worth the time it would to take get used to a new operating system. I'll have to see if I can play with my brother's Macbook sometime this summer.

Labels: Apple, Computer, News

Some republicans are trying to smear Obama. They claim that the statistics used in one of his speeches are wrong, but Media Matters has found that the numbers that he used are correct. The presidential race is already getting dirty.

Labels: America, Obama, Politics, President '08

Media Rights Technology is issuing cease and desist letters to Microsoft and Apple for not using enough DRM in their players. They argue that not using their technology is the same as circumvention and are using the DMCA as a basis for their suit. I expect that this will be thrown out.

An HBO CEO says the reason that users are so resistant to DRM is the fact it is called DRM. They suggested that it be called Digital Consumer Enablement, or DCE. The name is ironic in and of itself seeing as how they are actually disabling the digital consumer. Lunacy.

Labels: Apple, DRM, Legal, Microsoft, Technology

Bush seemingly tried to stay out of this particular scandal, but Gonzales has said that Bush was involved in some discussions. Why doesn't Gonzales stop all of the trouble and just step down? No matter the outcome, Gonzales has no authority left.

Most of the top officials in the administration, to me, have no authority left at all. Bush has made too many blunders to be trusted in anything he says. Cheney is linked to Haliburton, and as such, has zero authority. Gonzales could have avoided everything if he would have just admitted that it was for political reasons, but he chose to lie when the evidence said otherwise.

Labels: America, Bush, News, Politics

Americans want impeachment, and it's not just a vocal minority. About 39% of Americans are in favor of the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney, according to a poll. So that means that more than half of the people who currently disapprove of Bush's handling of the presidency also want him impeached.

The 2008 election will be the first time that I will be able to voice my opinion in the election. I will be able to refuse Giuliani, Mccain, and all those others, and help appoint a man that deserves the position: Obama. Obama emerged immediately from being a Jr senator to a presidential hopeful. How many politicians can climb the ladder that fast? And being a new name to the front page, Obama is good at making impressions- better impressions than Bush.

Labels: Bush

The Bush administration has wasted $456 billion on the Iraq War. No Americans will ever see any of that. Boston.com has a slideshow on what the money could have done, which is slightly different from a previous post with the same idea. Granted that this is from Boston, some are geared toward Boston. On the list:

1. 2,949 Newton North High Schools - the most expensive in Mass.
2. 30 Big Digs - the expansive tunnel system under Boston.
3. Free gas for 1.2 years - instead of fighting over it, just buy it.
4. Convert to ethanol - using only 15% of the money.
5. 14.5 million years of Harvard education - "No child left behind."
6. 1 year of Medicare benefits
7. Baseball contract for 52,615 years at $52 million
8. Feed & educate the poor for 5.5 years

Why don't we end this damn war and spend our money on things that matter. Or, instead of fighting, let's just burn it; it would be the same as the war, just without the lives lost.

Labels: America, Iraq, Money, Politics

Rudy Giuliani's campaign is taking a step back today as he nearly suggests the American people should submit to an authority, like the president. What person wants to submit to the government, especially with people like Bush in charge? Here's the quote:

Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.

We all know that the freedoms written in the constitution are only suggestions from our founding fathers. Not. Giuliani seems to be banking on the idea that people respect him for being Mayor during 9/11, but the reality is that everything after that point has been mishandled. The Iraq war was a big mistake, and anyone who supports it does not deserve to be in any office.

Does Giuliani honestly think that he is going to scare the public into his hands. He sounds like a worse candidate than anyone else (except maybe Mccain). It's actually worse than Mccain arrogant thinking that he knows better than all. The scare tactics may have worked for Bush after 9/11, but I doubt you can build a campaign on fear.

Labels: America, Giuliani, News, Politics, President '08

Some of the big donors during the George "Dubya" Bush campaign are now backing Barack Obama. Among his chief qualities, Obama has won much of his support by appealing to a large audience. He is trying to get more than just the Democratic party.

If Obama is swaying even republican supporters, I can only imagine that the party-neutral would sway towards him as well. Obama has come off as a reasonable and honest man, making him a polar opposite to George Bush. Even things like his teenage drug use poses no threat to him, as he simply replies that he did it, he regrets it, and has put it behind him. An honest man! I have a strong feeling that we are looking at what will be the first black president.

Labels: America, News, Obama, Politics, President '08

In New York, one school has learned the costly lesson that throwing technology at kids does not work. In an effort to help the students, everyone was given a laptop to use during the school year. It is easy to guess what those computers were used for.

The computers were not only expensive to buy, but also the maintain and repair. Many students used them to look at porn, share info during tests, or just about anything else. The school was also barely capable of handling the network traffic from all of the computers.

In the slashdot discussion, the point was brought up that politician who start these initiatives have their efforts in the wrong spot. We should be wasting money on technology for kids, but spending it on competent teachers. Or, at the very least, get rid of the unions that destroy the school system.

Labels: America, Computer, News, School, Technology

I'm sure that it's everyones dream to be able to make something truly successful. For myself, I dream of creating a website, be it a community, blog, whatever, and having it become successful enough that I can make a living from it.

Nate Whitehill is a man who is doing just that. He works for himself, and helps others along the way. He has a blog on business, blog and web development, which I enjoy reading. He deserves the respect. With him being a Mac guy, I've thrown a few questions his way and he has always answered them.

Anyhow, he is holding a contest for the 1000th comment on his blog, and for whoever writes about the contest. Prizes are (for each): $25 cash, blog review, and an hour of his work. If you make the 1000th comment, there is also a two-year subscription to GoStats Pro.

Labels: Rambling

Red Hat has made a 3 and a half minute long advertisement for Linux. I must say that I am impressed and enjoyed it, even though it was a bit long:

Labels: Advertising, Linux, Video

Update 8:56pm: Talks are reported to be over. There is no mention of any kind of deal.

There is nothing definitive, yet, but Yahoo and Microsoft are having formal discussions. It is speculated that Microsoft is trying to acquire Yahoo. This is a benefit for both companies, as Microsoft gains internet presence and Yahoo get additional financial backing along with other services to play with.

I never really thought that Yahoo ever stood a chance against Google, especially in the "extras" market (Gmail, etc). Yahoo's stance has always been the obnoxious banners that swirl around and are overall annoying. Google has always taken care that it is as unobtrusive as possible. Besides, I prefer the simplicity of Google's interface.

Labels: Internet, Microsoft, News, Yahoo

"Dubya" Bush is threatening to veto a bill^[1] that would extend the definition of hate crimes to include crimes based on sexual orientation and gender. From the article:

Just two days after the second veto of George W. Bush's presidency, the White House has threatened a third.

This time it involves a bill that expands hate crime laws to include violent attacks against people because of their sexual orientation or gender, passed by the House Thursday on a 237-180 vote. Current law applies to acts of violence on the basis of race, religion, color or national origin.

The Whitehouse defends themselves saying that such laws already exist at the local level, but that is hardly an excuse. As if denying marriage to gays wasn't enough, the Bush administration doesn't even want to protect them from violence. Who cares if it exists at the local level, make it national; it's not like it will damage the legal system.

Footnote: [1] The page is a composite of multiple stories. Headline is: "House passes hate crimes bill that includes sexual orientation, gender."

Labels: America, Gay, Legal, News, Stupidity

Our graceful commander in chief laughed in his speech while saying the words "we'll succeed in Iraq" (on video). By this single act, it shows that not even he believes that we will succeed in Iraq. I have a feeling that the presidential candidates will pick this up for future campaign commercials.

Now that Bush is getting all the hard questions, he has a definition of "success." Success is minimal violence, which is somewhat difficult considering we are caught in the middle of a civil war. Nothing that we do short of killing everyone will stop that violence; we can just stay out of it ourselves.

I finally figured out what he meant by "Mission Accomplished." The mission was to bullshit congress into believing that was a legitimate reason to invade Iraq.

Labels: America, News, Politics, Video

Google is confident that they are protected by the law in the Google vs. Viacom lawsuit. Google says that they are protected by copyright law because they have done everything that was required of them. From the article:

Viacom said that by the time it filed the lawsuit, it had identified over 150,000 clips on YouTube that infringed its copyright and asked for them to be taken down. Viacom also argued that YouTube's reliance on rights-holders to notify it of cases of infringement places an unfair burden on them.

Wait! It's unfair to Viacom that they have to notify YouTube? It's unfair that YouTube is 100% responsible for monitoring the thousands of videos uploaded every day. It's not as if Google is a pain to work with; they remove all the clips that they are sent notices for. What are they complaining about?

Labels: Google, Internet, Legal, News, YouTube

Update 5/2/07: After the community protest below, Kevin Rose has decided to allow the key to be posted, risking sending Digg to court.

Digg staff recently posted a post concerning the removal of the HD-DVD key that is circulating the internet. In response to this, Digg users are protesting the removal seeing it as censorship.

Nearly all stories on the homepage are related to the HD-DVD key. (Click image for full page screenshot.) There were eight stories that specifically give the key, along with an additional six about the censorship itself. It is questionable whether or not digg will regain the respect that people had for them, especially after it was revealed that they were sponsored by HD-DVD.

Labels: Digg, Internet, Technology

Bush doesn't give up. He has vetoed the Iraq spending bill that would mandate a pull-out date. Now, officially, any lack of funding can be blamed on Bush's mishandling of the war. From the article:

WASHINGTON - President Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate.

I desperately want to see Congress override Bush's veto, but it will be hard to sway the Bushies. I have a strong feeling that because of their backing of the Iraq war, many republican candidates will fail. It is near impossible to imagine any kind of justification for the war. Democrats will likely succeed because they are fighting to stop the war.

ThinkProgress has published some statistics of before and after "Mission Accomplished". What exactly was the "mission" that we accomplished? And why are we still there if it is accomplished? Why are so many more dead afterward?

Labels: America, News, Politics, Stupidity