Windows XP users, if you haven’t done so already, then better turn your virus watch on high alert: MSBlaster or Lovsvan was launched Monday targeting Microsoft’s most popular software including Windows XP and Windows Server 2000.

One of the more unusual and ominous features of MSBlaster, in fact, is that it is designed to launch a “denial-of-service” attack sending great volumes of traffic to Microsoft’s Windows Update Web site the same site where patches can be downloaded beginning on Saturday and through the year.

I was talking with various folks today and they were talking about: “Did you get the virus?” These kind of incidents only seem to frustrate netizens and make them more gunshy about the web. Mike offers links and instructions here on how to remove Blaster.tdav

Got my first new SprintPCS cell phone bill today. I was looking through and found the tax section:

I was especially curious about our city taxes of $1.67, but the total tax bill seemed a bit high proportionately. Now, I understand, hey it’s only $1.67 for the city, but the total amount is $10.95 per month which is added atop the carrier’s regular service fees.

So next I started phoning some of my friends to see what they were paying. A friend of mine’s total taxes were $6.66, he was with T Mobile. We used to be with T Mobile and we were paying $7.50. So from where we were with T-Mobile to move to Sprint PCS the taxes in the same place, it was an increase of $3.45.

I digress. I was very curious what the story with the City Sales Tax was. Here locally there seems to be complaints about decaying budgets and yet the taxes are going up? So where was this $1.67 per month being used?

I went over in person to City Hall and asked the clerk there if she knew what these fees were being used for or where I could research where these fees went. She said they went into a general fund (1.5% of all business the carrier does) and that I could fill out a form to receive a copy of what was being paid since it was in the public domain. However, the form had a charge section so that they could fill in how much they would charge me to access this information.

When I asked about this section, she said: “Oh, we will fill that in.”

That didn’t sound good to me; leaving an open checkbook for the city to decide how many copies of this information they were going to give me when all I wanted to receive was a summary of where this $1.67 per month I was paying was going. When pressed further she responded that it was going to cost me 20 cents per page. 20 cents per page to access information in the public domain?! Where are they buying their paper at? 5 cents a copy seems reasonable, but we aren’t talking color copies here. I imagine the 15 cents goes to the treasurer to push a button on her computer labled print

Now, I know, I sound like a whiner over what some would consider a measly $1.67, but as taxpayers we have a right to ask what is happening with this money. Check your cell phone bills and ask where those taxes are going. Find out what they are being spent on and if the costs are justified. How much in taxes are you paying on your cell phone?

Somehow I think this is only the beginning.

Wow, lots of MSN searches recently for my Samsung A600 review. It’s a great phone and I’ve just setup my very first moblog [formerly at tdavid.textamerica.com, but since canceled]: pix that make you go hmm  to chronicle pictures that I take with it (and with our digital camera as well).

A little while ago, I wrote about Danni Ashe launching a wireless version of her website. She wasn’t the first in the adult industry to do so but if you read studies reported in this article:

Industry analysts Visiongain are forecasting that by 2006 worldwide profits from adult content transmitted to mobile phones will account for $4bn in an industry making a total of $70bn.

4 billion? This could be good news for adult webmasters looking to expand into a market that is still fresh and new and bad news for those moral types who abhor those adults who enjoy the freedom of being able to view sexually explicit material. I sincerely hope that people driving their cars will not attempt to surf porn and drive at the same time, don’t you?

Speaking of music, the other night I finally did some biz with buymusic — I downloaded 3 songs. Where did I hear the songs? Radio @ AOL which is currently my favorite internet music streaming service. AOL’s sound quality is excellent comparatively if you have broadband.

So how did the buymusic experience go? First of all, as I saw someone else mention (sorry I don’t remember who it was to permalink them) that the quality is only 128k. This is disappointing for a paid download. They need to get that up to at least 192/44 or better yet, make it 320/44. The three songs I chose were from Def Leppard and were 99 cents each.

Since I wasn’t registered the site prompted me for an email address and then took me to the real form where it snagged my credit card and shipping info. Once you get through that you can go checkout and then download your music one at a time (another bummer). Note: you are going to need Windows Media Player 9 for this so if you don’t have it then you better download it before expecting to be able to play the song. I found that even after I downloaded and upgraded WM 9 on my machine there were still some “digital rights” that needed to be synchronized, which I assumed to be the security process that identifies my computer to those three songs so that they can only be downloaded on this one machine.

Overall, the selection of buymusic is good, the quality is substandard and the process of retrieving your purchased songs (one at a time) is not refined. Improvement is needed. Grade: D

A federal jury awarded a former Universary of California researcher $521 million asserting that Internet Explorer Web browser infringed U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 for sending software applications over the internet. Microsoft will appeal. Is it just me or does the patent office have issue patents for just about anything? I think sending software applications over the internet is a bit broad and while I admit I didn’t read the specific patent. Talk about going against a 1000 pound gorilla, good luck to the researcher (he’ll need it), because IE has like 90%+ domination in the browser market. Would be nice to see a couple real competitors in the browser market though and I do think that since Microsoft has announced no more new standalone browsers this will open up the field a bit more. Netscape is out, Mozilla is nice but hasn’t got nearly the penetration needed, iRider rocks but it costs $$ and it will be difficult for a browser that isn’t free to compete with the others that are. Maybe an opportunity for some other browser to step up?

If you’ve never checked out the Google Zeitgeist section you might be interested by the global search stats provided there. Check out the top technology searches for 2002. Who says that mp3 is going away?

How about “sms” being number 2? Cell phones have really exploded this year. I was reading a recent John Dvorak Inside Track column in the upcoming Sept 2, 2003 PC Magazine (if you are a digital subscriber, check your Zinio account for the download) where he predicts HDTV quality images being produced by camera phones in the next year. Sounds like he and Miss Cleo might have something in common.

The Winzip utility is 1 of only 2 (the other being the Real Player) that made the top 10. A good program.

Linux more searched upon than Microsoft?! Imagine that. Now if the XBox could sell games like it gets searches. Will be interesting to see how 2003 turns out for Google technology searches.

A lot of discussion about AOL broadband pricing here. I didn’t see mention of their Bring Your Own plan, or whatever they call it where you pay 15 bones a month and can use your own broadband provider and yet get access to all the AOL-only content. That’s the plan we have and if you are a developer or webmaster, I don’t see how one can ignore AOL’s 25 million plus members and not pony up for that.

Perhaps more importantly, AOL has some really good exclusive content which puts them in their own league as far as internet providers exclusive content goes. They also have taken steps to reduce their own popups from being so annoying. Remember how bad it was in the late 90’s? Wow, it sounds sort of like I’m sticking up for them here, doesn’t it? I’m not, but I do give credit where it’s due and beyond the things that annoy many people there are good things about AOL that are worth paying for. I’d check out Radio @ AOL if you like music, or the Amazing Instant Novelist writing areas (keyword novel) if you are a budding writer.

Related entries:
AOL brings in a paid blogger
Teens with Visa cards online
Radio @ AOL tops net radio in June
AOL 9.0 Optimized BETA now available
AOL Journals (blogging) is live!

David Walkinshaw, who owns Savile & Grannan Funeral & Cremation Service in Arlington, Mass said in regards to the practice of setting up guestbooks where mourners can email their condolences: “Funerals are such a personal thing and really require person-to-person contact.” If funeral directors are thinking email is tacky and impersonal, that really says something. These are the same folks who charge for everything but sneezing in the presence of the dead. Ok, well, some of them probably charge for that. So is it tacky to email condolence to someone? Seriously, I think it is. I much prefer phone call, a handwritten note or face to face for things like death, divorce which the last time I checked were the two most stressful things in life. My son drew me a picture story the other day; you can’t get much more personal than that. The condolence would probably just be eaten by some bayonese filter anyway, thinking it is some scam to sell funeral plots or viagra.

While on the subject of death, let’s switch to life (beta life that is), I’m now heading off to Microsoft to do some beta testing. I’ll see if I can’t write a journal entry or two in my technology on the web blog. Maybe take a picture of the outside of the playtest facility or lunchroom or something; whatever I’m allowed to do without violating my NDA.

LMAO! The picture in this article is great along with the quote: “Researcher Dr. James McAuliffe found that baboons could use and test software, and perform simple programming tasks.” I wonder what software they are testing out? Now I’m off to perform a programming task and I can’t help thinking that maybe I could hire myself a baboon or two to help out.

It’s a jungle out there. Their words, not mine.

The Blog Herald is running a sort of song/karaoke blog-related contest which is based upon the satire lyrics by Christian Crumlish and since I love music and like the original song (American Pie) it was based on I fired up the recorder and gave it a whirl. While I’ll likely never win with my voice and rendition, if you want to hear me tackle the song, feel free to laugh after you:

• DOWNLOAD bloggingpie.mp3 (6.09 MB 192/44) It was a fun distraction!

Other artist versions (please trackback or comment here so I can find you to link up):
Listen to Pete Hopkins do the full version. Pete was the first to enter this contest. Nice acoustic guitar in the beginning and mild distorted guitar in the later parts.