Category: Geek Stuff

Is AOL Scamming Old People?

My friend Dan at PC Magazine wrote an interesting article about AOL possibly taking advantage of older customers. By older, I don’t mean longtime customers; I’m talking about their age. Let’s face it, there are a lot of old people that use the Internet but aren’t exactly certain of what’s free and what’s not. Apparently AOL takes advantage of this. Here’s a damning quote from The New Yorker:

‘[M]any of [AOL’s subscribers] are older people who have cable or DSL service but don’t realize that they need not pay an additional twenty-five dollars a month to get online and check their email. “The dirty little secret,” a former AOL executive says, “is that seventy-five per cent of the people who subscribe to AOL’s dial-up service don’t need it”‘

That’s really shady. While I don’t expect AOL advertisements to say, “Hey, you can get this stuff for free, btw,” it looks like the company is engaging in deceptive practices. The whole thing makes me feel bad for old people that use the Internet.

Source via PC Magazine

Do You Use Online Coupons?

Online coupons are a huge business. Groupon recently turned down a $6-billion offer from Google. Unhappy with being spurned, Google has announced plans for a competing service called Google Offers. Think about that for a few seconds — a company turned down $6-billion dollars!!! That should clue you into the sheer massiveness of the online coupon business.

Do you guys and dolls use online coupons? Are you cool with signing up for services — and possibly giving up a little privacy — to save some cash? Is there are particular online coupon service you like or do you just take them as they come?

Did Your Zodiac Sign Change?

Millions of Facebook and Twitter users panicked over their zodiac signs changing. Depending on if you follow the tropical zodiac calendar or the sidereal zodiac calendar, you might have a new zodiac sign. Here’s the new calendar:

  • Capricorn: Jan. 20 – Feb. 16
  • Aquarius: Feb. 16 – March 11
  • Pisces: March 11- April 18
  • Aries: April 18 – May 13
  • Taurus: May 13 – June 21
  • Gemini: June 21 – July 20
  • Cancer: July 20 – Aug. 10
  • Leo: Aug. 10 – Sept. 16
  • Virgo: Sept. 16 – Oct. 30
  • Libra: Oct. 30 – Nov. 23
  • Scorpio: Nov. 23 – Nov. 29
  • Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 – Dec. 17
  • Sagittarius: Dec. 17 – Jan. 20

Personally, I don’t really give a crap about astrology. I was just amused by various Facebook status updates and the fact that this was a trending topic on Twitter yesterday. The funny part is that most Westerners follow the tropical zodiac calendar, so nothing has changed for most of the people that panicked and complained about the cosmic realignment.

Also, I managed to trick someone into thinking that Ophiuchus was a new sign that was invented by Chad Ochocinco. *snicker*

Just for fun, let’s follow the sidereal zodiac calendar. I’d love to know if your sign has changed under the revised zodiac calendar. If so, how do you feel about your new sign?

TechCrunch vs. Engadget: When Super Nerds Attack!!!

I’m absolutely loving the nerd war between TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington and Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky. These are two high-profile nerds with senior positions at two high-profile tech-blogs (that are both owned by AOL). Here’s some background from Business Insider for those of you not familiar with the matter.

On Tuesday evening, for no apparent reason, Arrington threw public punches at AOL’s crown-jewel technology blog, Engadget, and Engadget’s editor, Joshua Topolsky.

Specifically, Arrington called Engadget “a plasticized caricature of a real blog” and blasted it for buying traffic through Google Adwords (which Engadget actually hadn’t even done).

Then, today in a tweet, Arrington appeared to call AOL itself “pathetic.”

I love both sites (though I agree that Engadget isn’t what it used to be since Peter Rojas and Ryan Block left). While I completely understand why Arrington is so polarizing, I think it’s great that the tech world has his loud, outspoken, and unique voice. I’m definitely a fan.

Hopefully this skirmish escalates. It’s highly entertaining. I should buy some microwave popcorn so that I can sit back and watch the fireworks. Hmmmm…. Perhaps I should start a copycat war (on a much smaller scale) and pick a fight with some two-bit hack from a crap web site.

Source

Three Things I Learned From CES 2011

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to digest all the announcements and happenings from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what we’ve all learned. Here are my three takeaways from CES 2011:

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to digest all the announcements and happenings from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what we’ve all learned. Here are my three takeaways from CES 2011. Check ’em out and let me know what you learned (please)!

1) I Need a Dual-Core Mobile Processor Now! Never mind that the 800MHz Scorpion in my T-Mobile G2 is performing well and I’ve been perfectly happy with the phone for months. I lust for the superior power and efficiency of dual-core processors. Of course I want to see benchmarks and real-world battery tests, but that won’t stop me from glaring at my G2 for not having a dual-core processor.

2) The Motorola Atrix 4G’s Laptop Dock is Clever. Prior to CES 2011, I found the thought of a dockable mobile phone unappealing — probably because the Palm Foleo made it sound so ridiculous. That said, I have to admit that the netbook-like functionality of the Motorola Atrix has me interested. It appears to be a smart and sharp implementation that would extend the capabilities of the phone and eliminate the need for a secondary laptop. Color me intrigued (which, in my head, is a bright shade of blue).

3) Vizio’s Boldness is Awesome! Vizio isn’t the most well-known brand in America. Some people view it as the “cheapie” brand they see at CostCo and Sam’s Club. That’s a shame because the company offers some really excellent televisions, some of which are tough to beat from a price/performance ratio. I was surprised by the company’s aggressive and diverse moves at CES 2011. It’s entering the mobile computing market with Android and the gaming space with OnLive.

How about you? What were your favorite lessons learned from CES 2011?

Coffee Talk #275: CES Developments and You

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is right around the corner and all sorts of exciting (tech nerd) developments are about to be unveiled. What are you looking forward to at CES 2011?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Brett Favre’s slap on the wrist, the best cut of steak (it’s rib eye), or random closing thoughts on 2010, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is right around the corner and all sorts of exciting (tech nerd) developments are about to be unveiled. What are you looking forward to at CES 2011? Televisions are a huge part of the show, with 3DTV and advanced LED implementation leading the way. Android phones should be a major slice of the CES pie, with Verizon set to announce an LTE Android phone from HTC. Video chat through phones and televisions should cause a stir. There will be several Windows ultra-portable laptops on display from numerous manufacturers looking to duplicate the success of the MacBook Air. Tablet computers will be tremendous too, with several vendors serving up Apple iPad alternatives.

What are you looking forward to the most? Kindly take today’s poll and discuss in the comments section (please!).

[poll id=”92″]

Coffee Wars: Coava Kone vs. Chemex Paper Filters

For the last month I’ve been using Coava Coffee Roasters’ Kone filter with my trusty Chemex coffee pot. Coffee lovers rave about the bright and clean taste produced by Chemex paper filters, so I was curious to see what the Kone would bring to the table. To my surprise, I now prefer Kone coffee over paper-filtered coffee. The Kone produces a cup that’s richer than coffee produced by paper filters and brighter than coffee brewed from a French press or Sowden Softbrew. Your taste may vary, but for me the Kone hit a brilliant sweet spot.

Although $50 seems like a lot for a stainless steel filter, daily drinkers will save money in the long run over buying paper filters. Furthermore, the Kone was engineered in Oregon and is manufactured in Connecticut from Ohio steel. Most of the stuff in my kitchen (sadly) has a “Made in China” stamp on it, so I feel proud and patriotic when brewing coffee with the Kone. (Perhaps I should play John Williams’ Superman theme when I use the Kone.)

The Kone also sports some very cool tech. It has been meticulously engineered to provide superior extraction over paper filters and has thousands of photochemically etched holes. It makes me feel proud as a geek and an American.

Check out the video above for more details on the Kone and to see it in action. If you have any questions about my experience with this fine product, please ask away in the comments section. Congrats to Coava for making an environmentally friendly coffee filter that boosts the American economy!

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Internet Atheists vs. Internet Christians

I’m off to the airport shortly so I thought I’d write a really loaded post to encourage discussion. Ha! Seriously though, I’ve always wondered why Internet atheists usually run circles around Internet Christians. I was reminded of this when reading a recent post on FakeSteveJobs that started with an explanation on why a Christian and homophobic app was removed from iTunes and evolved into a pro-atheism rant. Naturally, it got a ton of attention, generating the most comments FSJ has seen in a long time. Before I continue, let me state for the record that I’m neither atheist or Christian, so I have no horse in this race.

As I sifted through the comments, I saw what I usually see in these kinds of arguments. The atheists offer logical arguments that are sometimes infused with dickish snark. The Christians offer passionate arguments that are sometimes pretentiously dismissive. Keep in mind that I’m speaking in general terms. I’ve also seen atheists that are just senseless pricks and Christians that offer fair explanations, but in general I usually see atheists making Christians look silly.

A lot of it has to do with logic vs. faith. It’s easier to explain logic because it’s…well, logical. Trying to explain faith to someone that doesn’t share the same beliefs is extremely difficult. I often see Internet Christians lose patience with atheists; initially they try to explain and preach peacefully, but they quickly become rattled and very un-Christian. Hmmm, perhaps the various churches need to deploy Internet missionaries. That could be shockingly effective….

Anyway, I wanted to get your thoughts on the matter. Hopefully nobody is offended and we can have a civil discussion on the topic. In your experience, what have you observed when Internet Christians and Internet atheists go at it?