<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Bill Mullins&#039; Weblog - Tech Thoughts]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://billmullins.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[Bill Mullins]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://billmullins.wordpress.com/author/billmullins/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Tech Thoughts Daily Net News &ndash; June 24,&nbsp;2010]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Firefox-3-6-4-adds-crash-protection-fixes-vulnerabilities-Update-1027586.html" target="_blank">Firefox 3.6.4 Release Fixes 225 Bugs</a></strong> &#8211; Following delays, Mozilla has released version 3.6.4 of the Firefox web browser. Firefox 3.6.4 closes more than 225 bugs found in the previous update, addresses a number of critical security vulnerabilities and includes new crash protection technology from the Mozilla Lorentz Project.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/199274/video_formats_explained.html?tk=nl_tex_h_cbstories" target="_blank">Video Formats Explained</a></strong> &#8211; The whole video format situation couldn&#8217;t be more confusing if it was intended as a practical joke. &#8220;Hey, let&#8217;s create a file format with no compatibility standards, and pass out lots of files that may or may not work. And while we&#8217;re at it, let&#8217;s fill that salt shaker with sugar.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/199508/google_under_multistate_privacy_microscope_how_we_got_here.html?tk=nl_spx_h_cbstories" target="_blank">Google Under Multistate Privacy Microscope: How We Got Here</a></strong> &#8211; Google is under fire by the state of Connecticut and other states for it&#8217;s Wi-Fi data collection. Here is a timeline on how Google found itself in this mess.</p>
<p><a href="https://billmullins.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/techthoughtsdailytechnews221.jpg"><img style="display:inline;border:0;" title="Tech Thoughts Daily Tech News 2" src="https://billmullins.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/techthoughtsdailytechnews2_thumb21.jpg?w=474&#038;h=117" border="0" alt="Tech Thoughts Daily Tech News 2" width="474" height="117" /></a></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/12965fd1eed148ab" target="_blank"></a></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/webmaster/article.php/3577111/Windows-Wireless-Zero-Configuration-Five-Steps-to-Sanity.htm" target="_blank">Windows Wireless Zero Configuration: Five Steps to Sanity</a></strong> &#8211; With the release of Windows XP, Microsoft tried to make configuring and connecting to wireless networks easy for everyone. They partially succeeded.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.darkreading.com/database_security/security/intrusion-prevention/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225700716&amp;cid=nl_DR_DAILY_2010-06-23_t" target="_blank">Researcher &#8216;Fingerprints&#8217; The Bad Guys Behind The Malware</a></strong> &#8211; Black Hat USA researcher will demonstrate how to find clues to help ID actual attackers, plans to release free fingerprinting tool.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/fastest-isps-2010/" target="_blank">The Fastest ISPs in the U.S. 2010</a></strong> &#8211; Browser manufacturers spend a lot of time touting their speeds, but if you really want a quick load time, you need to look to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). We crunched speeds from the top ISPs across the country to find out which providers came out on top.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/kindle-nook-and-vizplex-ereader-devices-face-mass-extinction/13305?tag=nl.e550" target="_blank">eReader devices face mass extinction</a></strong> &#8211; Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Amazon Kindle and the Barnes &amp; Noble Nook have taken a pricing nose dive, hitting the rock-bottom &#8220;margin floor.&#8221; Is the age of the dedicated e-Reader over? What do you think?</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/google-voice-one-more-step-toward-owning-everything/2221?tag=nl.e550" target="_blank">Google Voice: One more step toward owning everything</a></strong> &#8211; So it’s great, right? A Gmail-style interface for your messages, including free SMS, right from any browser or smartphone, with decent speech-to-text email-style voicemail transcriptions (kiss my butt, Verizon, and keep your crappy, not-free, visual voicemail) and a single number that can always find you (no, that’s a good thing for most of us)…what’s not to love?</p>
<h4>Off Topic (Sort of):</h4>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.heavy.com/comedy/2010/06/the-20-worst-names/" target="_blank">The 20 Worst Names Real People Have (With Proof)</a></strong> &#8211; You know, you can go down to the courthouse and file a petition of name change for like fifty bucks. It takes a week or so to go through and then bam! You have a whole new name! I’ve done it twice, it’s no big deal. So why haven’t the twenty people in this article changed their amazingly fail names? Lord only knows. Let’s just point and laugh and wonder, shall we?</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/packet-sniffing-laws-murky/" target="_blank">Packet-Sniffing Laws Murky as Open Wi-Fi Proliferates</a></strong> &#8211; Starbucks is rolling out free, unsecured Wi-Fi access at about 7,000 of its coffee shops across the United States beginning July 1. But will there be packet-sniffing with your latte?</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-GeNYShbc" target="_blank">OSes made Simple in 3:19</a></strong> &#8211; This is a classic skit done by the Royal Canadian Air Farce entitled &#8220;The Macintoshes&#8221;. A Scottish lad from the McIntosh clan discovers the wife he has chosen is incompatible&#8217;. (submitted by Dar)</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=John+Stossel:+War+on+drugs+worse+than+drugs&amp;articleId=1292363d-9a0b-49cf-a383-830b0833e524" target="_blank">JOHN STOSSEL: War on drugs worse than drugs</a></strong> &#8211; Everything can be abused, but that doesn&#8217;t mean government can stop it, or should try to stop it. Government goes astray when it tries to protect us from ourselves.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/monster-crocodile-gobbles-up-a-shark-in-kakadu-national-park/story-e6freuy9-1225883518880" target="_blank">Monster crocodile gobbles up SHARK</a></strong> &#8211; This monster crocodile has just proven who&#8217;s the king of the swamp!</p>
<h4>Today’s Quote:</h4>
<p><em>“Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the time.”</em></p>
<p>&#8211;    <strong>E. B. White</strong></p>
<h4>Today’s Free Downloads:</h4>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,84739/description.html?tk=nl_ddx_h_dlfeat" target="_blank">JonDoFox</a></strong> &#8211; JonDoFox creates a customized Firefox profile that automatically uses the program, as well as a number of privacy and security-themed Firefox addons, to allow for anonymous, protected surfing. It&#8217;s a nicely configured setup that takes very little effort to set up.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,69657/description.html?tk=nl_ddx_h_dlfeat" target="_blank">FireFTP</a></strong> &#8211; FireFTP turns Firefox into an impromptu and speedy two-way FTP application. Once installed, FireFTP appears in the Tools menu. Click it and a new FTP tab opens up, offering a simple two-pane system that lets you easily copy files between your desktop and a remote site.</p>
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