GraniteGeek

GraniteGeek http://www.area603.com/index.php?blogId=6 DavidBrooks 2009-08-17T23:39:23Z Shareware Report: Photo tagger http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2332&blogId=6 Picture this: You've just taken pictures at your neighborhood's annual block party. Now it's time to post them the neighborhood Web site for those who purposely missed the gala celebration. "Who's that with the ape mask on? Must be Andy, he's always a jerk at these parties," you think. As you move the cursor over his disguised visage, a tool tip reveals the truth: "Ah! It's John. I should have known." Annotating pictures to make them more informative is just one of many photo features packed into FotoTagger, developed by Cogitum LC. FotoTagger lets you easily add movable notes to individual elements visualized on images. The notes can be hidden in a click of a button so the original view remains intact. Moreover, the notes always stay with the image wherever it is shared. You can identify people, places, and events on digital photos. Mark notable details and comment specific objects. To add comic relief to this boring block party, why not display your tags in a form of balloons? Once you're done creating exciting annotated pictures, you can publish the images to Blogger and LiveJournal, or how about uploading annotated pictures to Flickr and download them back to FotoTagger with Flickr notes preserved? You can easily create build photo slide shows of annotated images to create albums, presentations, tutorials, and galleries of annotated artworks. They can be published then on your site or burned on a CD. You'll have picture-perfect memories to perhaps an otherwise forgettable occasion. Where to get it: <a href="http://www.fototagger.com">http://www.fototagger.com</a> Price: Free System Requirements:PC with 300MHz Pentium processor; 128MB RAM; about 3MB of free hard disk space; 800x600 pixels, 16 bit color monitor; Windows 2000/XP. Bill Dubie and Dave Sciuto are industry columnists. They recommend strongly that you read the end-user license agreement on any software you download, as the program could contain spyware or other utilities you don't want on your computer. Software / computing 2008-08-31T06:28:12Z DavidBrooks Dumping bloatware from new PCs http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2327&blogId=6 I liked <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/technology/28software.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1219925268-JJsqOeOxU/QavAI41SHTxA">this NY Times article </a>about the growing business by retailers (notably Best Buy) of removing installed bloatware from new PCs and how it threatens the slim profit margins of computer firms. I hate all the crud that clutters a new computer ... on the other hand, I like the fact that computers are darn cheap these days, which is partly a function of the way software firms pay H-P et. al. to install that stuff, reducing our cost. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TANSTAAFL">TANSTAAFL</a>, I guess. Software / computing 2008-08-28T08:08:38Z DavidBrooks RFID toll systems hackable http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2318&blogId=6 Here's a scary story - a guy has hacked one of an RFID toll road systems that is like <a href="http://www.ezpassnh.com/">EazyPass</a>, although this system is in San Francisco. From <a href="http://technologyreview.com/Infotech/21301/?a=f">the Technology Review story</a>, spotted via Slashdot: "fraudsters could clone transponders ... by copying the ID of another driver onto their device. As a result, they could travel for free while others unwittingly foot the bill."(UPDATE: The post below notes that EZPass also takes a picture of your license plate as you race through, so a scam wouldn't last long.) Software / computing 2008-08-26T10:54:57Z DavidBrooks Shareware Report: Goober for instant messaging http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2312&blogId=6 <a type="image/jpeg" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg" id="res_469" class="nodecoration"><img border="0" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg&mode=preview" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image_small" /></a> We're no longer tied to just one instant-messaging system. We have simply too many talking friends using various SMS (short message service) application. That's why we're Goobers. <o> Goober Multimessenger allows us to stay in touch with all our friends regardless if they're on ICQ or MSN. We can import our ICQ and MSN contacts into Goober and immediately start chatting with them. <o /> The company, <a href="http://goober.com/">Goober.com</a>, promises that more messengers like Yahoo, Jabber, and googleTalk will be added soon. OK, so it doesn't do AIM, and that's a problem for many of our chatty friends, but we suspect that AOL's highly propriety SMS protocol will play nice in the future, or go the way of Netscape's JSS technology. Remember that? Why do we like Goober so much? Maybe it's the Widget capability that enables us to empower our web pages and email. Goober lets us enjoy unlimited instant communication. We've empowered our email and mySpace pages with Goober instant communication. Now, visitors can instantly get in touch with us. And, there's nothing to download. No registration either. Visitors can recognize our online status and contact us immediately. Goober's widget is fully customizable, the way we want it. <o /> The fun doesn't end there when you're a Goober. Visitors can call us free of charge via Goober Widget. The company promised that slideshow and cellphone publishing, as well as file upload will all be available by the end of August. We'll be able to share our pictures and publish them with our cellphones in our Goober widget. <o /> Goober will even help us to find new friends all around the world. We can now create profiles for various purposes and get immediately connected with other users. Goober checks for to see other Goobers who matches our profiles.<o /> Where to get it: <a href="http://www.Goober.com/">http://www.Goober.com/</a> Price: Free System Requirements: Windows XP or Vista; ICQ or MSN account<o /> Bill Dubie and Dave Sciuto are industry columnists. They recommend strongly that you read the end-user license agreement on any software you download, as the program could contain spyware or other utilities you don't want on your computer.<o /> <o> </o> </o> Software / computing 2008-08-23T20:01:45Z DavidBrooks CharlieCard hacker gag order lifted http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2297&blogId=6 I saw the news via Dan Kennedy's Media Nation, so <a href="http://medianation.blogspot.com/2008/08/mit-gag-order-has-been-lifted.html">here's the link</a>., which has better links to background than I could give you. Also it has his good summary: <ul><li>"It makes a mockery of the principle that prior restraint is to be reserved only serious issues of national security, obscenity and incitement to violence."</li></ul> Software / computing 2008-08-19T15:58:33Z DavidBrooks Computer security: "People Just Don't Take the Basic Precautions" http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2293&blogId=6 The Washington Post has a Q&A with the head of the FBI's Cyber Division, who was at the Black Hat hacker convention in Las Vegas. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/18/AR2008081802186.html">From the interview</a>:<ul><li>Many people just don't have the level of knowledge needed to safeguard themselves. The bar is raised every day.</li><li>I think the government is doing a fairly good job of reaching and making people aware. ... What do you want, the government to teach classes? ... We can't force people to become more aware. </li><li>Peer-to-peer botnets are becoming more prevalent, like Storm and Kraken. A lot of these are being created so that they avoid detection by anti-virus software, so they're hiding better.</li></ul> Software / computing 2008-08-19T06:57:31Z DavidBrooks Shareware Report: Widget for free http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2290&blogId=6 <a type="image/jpeg" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg" id="res_469" class="nodecoration"><img border="0" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg&mode=preview" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image_small" /></a>Suppose you're writing a document in Word, Notepad, PowerPoint, or you encounter a word or phrase you want to look up. You have the wonderful utility from answers.com, of course, but there's a new utility that sits comfortably in your system tray, ready at your beck and call for you to highlight it. Up pops a small icon that drops down a menu of myriad options, including links to relevant articles on Wikipedia, Google search (as well as other search engines), reference links to howstuffworks.com, dictionary.com, and others. Perfect for students and scholars, this free download saves you several keystrokes. Kallout also offers options to locations (like Google Maps), news (New York Times, among others), shopping, images, and video. That's a lot of options for a simple highlight. Our only gripe is that it seems to work only with Microsoft applications, Adobe PDF, Facebook, or Firefox, but because those programs are widely used, you might not need to use it with anything else. (We did not test Kallout with OpenOffice.) Quite simply, this utility should come with all Office applications. The learning curve is, oh, about thirty seconds. Once you learn to highlight a term, phrase, or anything else, Kallout expands your options to integrate your work with the Web. Watch the demo and video on its Web site. Kallout is a keeper. Where to Get it: <a href="http://www.kallout.com/">http://www.kallout.com/</a>. Price: Free. Requirements: Any computer running Windows XP or Vista, Microsoft Office 2003/2007, IE6, IE7, or Firefox Bill Dubie and Dave Sciuto are industry columnists. They recommend strongly that you read the end-user license agreement on any software you download, as the program could contain spyware or other utilities you don't want on your computer. Software / computing 2008-08-17T06:50:44Z DavidBrooks Subway hacker II: Judge says tell all http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2285&blogId=6 The Globe is following the story of the three MIT students who were muzzled in their attempt to give a talk at Defcon about how they hacked into the system of the MBTA (Boston's transportation authority), as mentioned below. <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/08/mit_students_or.html">The latest news</a> is that a judge says they have to show emails the trio wrote to organizers of the conference, as well as a copy of a paper they prepared for an MIT professor. Software / computing 2008-08-14T20:39:12Z DavidBrooks Shareware Report: Song ripper http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2275&blogId=6 <a type="image/jpeg" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg" id="res_469" class="nodecoration"><img height="142" width="133" border="0" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=shareware%20report%20logo.jpg&mode=medium" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image_medium" /></a>Ah, the simplicity of single-use programs! Simple and elegant, small in space and digital footprint. Such is the case with FreeRIP, a program that converts audio CD tracks into multiple formats like MP3, WAV, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, Flac. Not only that, but it allows you to convert formats (with instructions on Web site). So what is ripping? It's the process of converting an audio file from a CD to a format that you can load on your iPod or other music player, saving you the inconvenience of lugging CDs wherever you go. Sure, large commercial programs like Nero can do the same thing, but we found FreeRIP to be simultaneously simple and comprehensive--and free. The options include categorizing the CD from freedb.org, the de facto CD database, or FreeRIP's own database. You can also convert multiple tracks to a single file, if you want to encode an entire album. (Dave's at work on his collection of The Archies.) You can do the same with raw tracks, as well as search from within FreeRIP to find information about the artist, album, or track. Where to Get it: <a href="http://www.freerip.com/">http://www.freerip.com/</a> Price: Free (Pro version has extra options) Requirements: Any computer running Windows XP or Vista <o /> <o> </o> Bill Dubie and Dave Sciuto are industry columnists. They recommend strongly that you read the end-user license agreement on any software you download, as the program could contain spyware or other utilities you don't want on your computer.<o /> Software / computing 2008-08-09T17:31:13Z DavidBrooks CharlieCard hacking talk shut down by judge http://www.area603.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2274&blogId=6 <a type="image/jpeg" href="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=charlie%20card%20MBTA.jpg" id="res_548" class="nodecoration"><img height="144" width="217" border="0" src="http://www.area603.com/resserver.php?blogId=6&resource=charlie%20card%20MBTA.jpg&mode=medium" style="margin: 5px;" class="res_image_medium" /></a>Three MIT students were going to present a talk about how to hack the CharlieCard, the RFID fare system for Boston's subway system, but a judge has blocked them. From the CNet story: <ul><li> They had said would describe 'several attacks to completely break the CharlieCard' ... They also planned to release card-hacking software they had created. </li> </ul>The state of Massachusetts sued to block them from giving the talk at the Defcon hacker convention. Unfortunately for them, as the story points out:<ul><li> Every one of the thousands of people here who registered for Defcon received a CD with the students' 87-page presentation titled "Anatomy of a Subway Hack." It recounts, in detail, how they wrote code to generate fake magcards. </li> </ul> Software / computing 2008-08-09T16:41:09Z DavidBrooks