WyzGuys Tech Talk

I use a remote access product called CoPilot, by FogCreek Software.  I was developed by Joel Spolsky, who is an exceptional software designer, and an accomplished writer on software design, and business and marketing strategy.  You can read him at http://www.joelonsoftware.com.

I have signed up for his newsletter, and this morning read 2 articles that I want to share with you.  They are not about software design, but more about business strategy, and definitely worth a read.  The ...

Another beauty from my barber, Milo David.

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’ The florist was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a ...

I teach a computer course called "Intro to Windows Vista".  Recently one of the students sent me the following e-mail:

Hi Bob,
I attended you Exploring Vista class at Boutwell on Monday, January 28th. 
I am having trouble setting my screen saver.  I have followed the directive in "Help & Support", but it still will not turn on.  Any idea why this might be?
Thanks so much!

My reply follows, but basically what I beleive was the problem ...

I’ve told the joke I posted last in a number of different group settings.  Reactions break pretty much along gender lines.  Most women are upset about the goat.  Most men, on the other hand, are concerned about the loss of the transmission.

I suspect farmers would be upset about both things, and why the two hunters are on their land without permission.

No actual goats were hurt in the telling of this joke.  Please stop sending the Humane Society to ...

I don’t post a lot of jokes, but this one just cracks me up.  Enjoy!!

Two yoopers are out hunting, and as they are walking along they come upon a huge hole in the ground. They approach it and are amazed by the size of it.
The first hunter Paavo, says ‘ Wow, that’s some hole, I can’t even see the bottom, I wonder how deep it is?’
The second hunter Heikki says’, I don’t know, let’s throw something ...

We remodeled our kitchen four years ago, and bought a new Maytag refrigerator/freezer with in the door water and ice, an electric oven and range with ceramic top, and a dishwasher.  Since we had been planning this remodel for over a decade, we bought fairly expensive models.  If we wanted a feature, we were willing and did pay more to get them.  So far, I am unimpressed with your quality.  We had Whirlpool appliances in the past, and ...

For those of you who wonder what cookies are and are they a good thing or a bad thing, here is a great video for you.  http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/cookiecontest/

I ordered a new Dell laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium about a month ago.  I needed a Vista machine to prepare for a class I was teaching (Intro to Windows Vista), so I took the plunge.  Of course, the first thing I did was reformat the hard drive, and create three partitions.  The first one (C:) I used to install Windows XP, as a form of security blanket.  Then I upgraded to Windows Vista, but installed it ...

There is an email circulating that says any email titled Merry Christmas will contain a had drive eating virus.  This is a hoax.  Here is the link – http://www.hoax-slayer.com/merry-christmas-virus-hoax.shtml

The email I received this morning that had been forwarded a few times. It said:

"VIRUS ALERT!!   

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/zafi.asp

You should be alert during the next days:
Do not open any message with an attached file called ‘Merry Christmas’
regardless of who sent it, It is a virus ...

This post is another in my continuing series of warnings about the changing nature of security threats on the Internet.  There has been an almost total disappearance of the kind of disruptive mail mailing viruses, like the ILoveYou or Anna Kournicova viruses.  the reason for this is that the nature of on-line threats has shifted from a group of hackers doing it for fun and notoriety, to a group of professionals doing it for profit.  Skilled criminal groups ...