Show #72

[Download Show #72 as MP3]

News

• Vista Price Cuts Show How Much Microsoft is in Trouble
• Blind Hacker
  • Kevin Mitnick Weighs In
    • Kevin Wrote: The Art of Deception
  • Phone Phreak - Slang
    
  • Examples:
    
    • Had peoples lines disconnected
    • Had police believing a faked hostage stand-off
• Steve Jobs Says No Flash on the iPhone
• not preparing adobe flash on the iphone was not a CHOICE- but rather due to the structural limitations of flash
• flash is for interactive moving and "flashing" stuff
• most users already have plug-in, plus it can be downloaded for free
• flash only designed to work on desk top computer
• but iphone is fraction of a desk tops size and doesn't have all the same resources
  
• Netvibes Ginger Launches
  • Flickr
  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Slide
  • 120,000 high-quality universal widgets Netvibes offers
  • Easily published, synced and updated live on Netvibes public pages (called Universes).
  • DIY Community: Netvibes Ginger transforms the entire web into a shared, social experience where users can see what their friends are reading, listening to, watching or what their social networking activity is, with activity streams. Users can instantly invite friends from any online address book, Twitter or Facebook, and conveniently create and maintain a community around their public Universe that’s automatically updated across different networks.
    
  • Completely redesigned, easy-to-use interface for a better homepage experience, filled with hundreds of new tools
    • Friends Activity widget
    • Content widgets from major media publishers (including full-length TV episodes from CBS)
• Nine Inch Nails Gets Creative with Radiohead Style Release
  • Nine Inch Nails has released a new album, Ghosts I-IV, but in a way different then you might think
  • First off, the first "volume" was released to BitTorrent as a free download
  • You can purchase the album digitally (36 tracks) for $5 from Amazon.com's Mp3 Store or from NIN.com
    • The digital downloads from NIN.com come in the following formats (all $5)
      
      • 320kbps Mp3s (highest quality mp3 files)
        
      • FLAC (Lossless but will not play in iTunes without conversion)
        
      • Apple Lossless (Lossless, will play in iTunes)
        
  • If you want a physical version of the album,
    
    • $10 gets you Ghosts I-IV on two CDs;
      
    • $75 gets you a limited-edition package
      
      • 2 Audio CDs containing all 36 tracks
      • Download Code for Mp3 or Lossless files
      • 16 page booklet in deluxe digipack
      • 40 page PDF
      • Data DVD with multi-track files
        
    • (Sold Out) For a whopping $300, the true NIN superfan can pick up the "ultra-deluxe" limited-edition package
      
      • Only 2500 Available
        
      • 2 Audio CDs containing all 36 tracks
      • Download Code for Mp3 or Lossless files
      • 48-page book of photos
      • 40 page PDF
      • Data DVD & Blu-Ray discs with multi-track files
      • 4 180-gram records
      • Signed by Trent Reznor
  • Also, all the tracks have been licensed under a Creative Commons license, allowing folks to remix the tracks. Combine that with the ability to get the multi-track files via a package deal, and we should be seeing a good number of remixes begin to pop up.
  • Granted, there are several less famous independent artists whom would love the kind of press that Mr. Trent Reznor is, and you can find several of those artists on eMusic.com & MySpace. It is important to note that the music industry is changing. Distribution models like the one NIN is demonstrating might become the rule rather than the exception over the next few years.
  • Just in the "Ultra Deluxe" Super Editions Reznor has pull in $750,000 in revenue alone. This doesn't include the other purchase methods.
  • Is Reznor setting the bar for which all other digital releases will be judged by? Is he out doing himself to early into his indie freedom?
    

Web Picks

• Friendfeed - Takes a simpler approach than Netvibes Ginger, another social website that basically combines all the feeds about you, but it's different in that you can subscribe to a single RSS feed for a person.
  
  • Digg, Google Reader, Flickr, Picasa Web Albums, del.ici.ous, Netflix Queue, Last.fm, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Twitter, Yelp, Amazon Wishlists, GMail/Google Talk, Your RSS Feed/Blog
  • looks like the feed on facebook- but show your activity from multiple databases and lets you isolate friends and see all their online activities
    
• Recover Different Versions of Files in Windows Vista
  • We've all heard of System Restore
  • Introducing: Shadow Explore
    

Gamer's Corner

• Deadliest Catch
• Surprisingly in-depth game
• Catch crabs
• Time based
• Pick crew, boat, places to fish,
• Very fun if your a "Deadliest Catch" Junkie. Might even intrigue those that aren't.
  

Penny Pinchers

Who should you tip? How much is appropriate? How should a tip be offered?

Situations that may call for gratuities always seem riddled with questions. When in doubt, we try to err on the side of generosity.

Scenario: You're with two friends watching basketball at a New York City bar, and after steadily tipping $1--$2 per drink, the bartender buys you a round.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $12. The fabled buyback should be rewarded, generally with an amount about the price of a round of drinks. (Don't expect buybacks in touristy areas.) Different bartenders have different rules for when they give customers freebies--one for every third or fourth round is common. Tip more if the buybacks come more frequently, or if you're given appetizers or shots on the house.

Scenario: After a few hours at a $10 blackjack table in Las Vegas, you suddenly hit two blackjacks in a row and find yourself up $150.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $20. Casino dealers aren't tipped as consistently as, say, waiters. But it's good karma (which every gambler needs) to tip an occasional chip or two, especially when you're winning. And absolutely tip the waitresses serving free cocktails: $2 per drink at the minimum. There's no need to tip if you've only played two hands at a table, however. And if you're down a few hundred bucks, tipping the dealer doesn't guarantee your fortunes will change.

Scenario: Hotel's concierge to make restaurant reservations, purchase theater tickets for you, and tell you where the nearest Tube stop is.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $20. Most tasks that a concierge handles (arranging show tickets, excursions, dinner reservations, or babysitting) call for a tip, and in pricey London, $10 per request is fair. There's no need to tip for quick inquiries about the nearest Tube stop or what street offers prime window-shopping. You might up the gratuity if you're staying for an extended period and want to be in the concierge's good graces. Also, it's common to tip more at high-end hotels.

Scenario: A waiter in Sydney brings free wine samples and steers you away from the halibut in favor of the yellowfin tuna, which turns out to be fantastic. The bill is about $60.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $6. Service fees are rare Down Under, and waiters, maids, taxi drivers, and even tour guides don't expect gratuities. Still, nowadays patrons at restaurants and cafés commonly tip waiters 5 to 10 percent of the bill when service is excellent. If the food and service were merely adequate, hold the tip, or round up the bill by $1 or $2. On the other hand, you might tip even more if the waiter threw in a dessert or a round of drinks.

Scenario: The bill for an uneventful taxi ride from the airport to your hotel in downtown Buenos Aires comes to a little less than $20.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $2. Locals usually don't tip taxi drivers, but, after years of experience with North American tourists, cabbies throughout South America have come to expect a small gratuity from foreigners. Rounding up the fare and telling the driver to keep the change is fine; there's no need to give more. For that matter, tipping the driver is by no means necessary, so don't do it if the service isn't satisfactory.

Scenario: Dinner at a Munich bistro costs $25. Your waitress was decent but not extraordinary.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $2. Waitstaff in Europe don't rely on tips the way their American counterparts do. Still, patrons on the Continent often tip one or two euros and change for good service. This is the case in France and Italy, where a service fee is usually marked on the bill (as service compris and servizio repectively), and in Germany and Austria, where the gratuity may not be spelled out. (In Germany and Austria, don't leave money on the table; hand it to your server.)

Scenario: While on a weeklong Caribbean cruise, your cabin is well taken care of by housekeeping, with beds made and towels replaced in a timely and unintrusive fashion.

How Much To Tip--And Why: $0. Cruise ships almost always add a gratuity to the bill. For the rare situation when a tip's not figured in, give the amount that most ships automatically charge: $10 per person per day. Even if the tip is tacked on, passengers usually have the power to change the amount. The staff counts on the money as part of their income, so request that the gratuity be removed only if the service was exceptionally poor--and explain to the management why you were disappointed.