Protecting Your Computer Data with XXClone

Everyone will suggest doing a backup (or several backups) to avoid a computer disaster. If the backups are done on a partition of the same hard drive, the backup protection is limited severely. If there is a major diaster with that main hard drive, it could impact every partition. All the backups done on separate partitions, in effect, become part of the catastrophe and become essentially useless.

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Lotus Symphony: Free from IBM

Lotus Symphony from IBM offers an alternative to Microsoft Office. It has received stellar reviews:

“… Today, of course, Microsoft Office is dominant, while Lotus Symphony has become largely a forgotten footnote to history. And that’s too bad, because IBM Lotus Symphony (as it’s now called) is quite a powerful office suite–and amazingly enough, anyone can download and use it for free.”

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ChaCha Provides Answers vis the Cell Phone

ChaCha wants to turn your cell phone into an information centre. It is not a search function in the traditional sense. It is more like having a dialogue:

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Reminders from PingMe

Are you overwhelmed with things-to-do? There is a way to remind yourself of those important things or those “have-good-intention” items. The service is PingMe:

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Hoax: The New York Times Is Spoofed

The newspapers have had a rough time. There is dwindling circulation and advertisers are going to the internet. On top of that, The New York Times has to deal with pranksters. Some citizens of New York City were surprised to read the headline “Iraq War Ends”:

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Free Things Become Troublesome on the Day of the Vote

It is even a problem to give things away, especially on voting day in the United States. It may be against the law:

“Businesses that hope to reward voters today for exercising their patriotic right might be committing a felony.

But such freebies might be a violation of election laws — they could be viewed as bribes even after a vote has been cast.”

link: Authorities Eye Voter Perks

The local Starbucks is modifying their offer. A customer does not have to mention anything about voting. A Starbucks customer simply has to ask for a free cup of coffee and it is that easy. It might be different in your area - but it is interesting how ‘free’ can be against the law.

Catherine Forsythe

Starbucks Gives A Free Coffee for Voting

It is creative marketing. On November 4th, the day to vote for many people, if you tell a Starbucks barista that you have voted, you will be given a free tall coffee. Starbucks will receive some free publicity for this brief campaign. Do vote - and stop in for a free coffee.

Catherine

The Danger of the Free Drug Sample

It seems like a kindness from the physician. A free drug sample of prescription medication saves some dollars and it allows some exposure to the product before purchasing. However, for children, this free drug sample may be unsafe:

“…The researchers found that one in 20 American children received free drug samples in 2004. And among those who took at least one prescription drug that year, nearly one in 10 received free samples.

This in concerning, since the researchers also found that some of the most frequently distributed samples may be unsafe.”

link: Free Prescription Drug Samples Pose Risk to Kids

This marketing plan by drug companies places children at direct risk. The drug manufacturers are eager to have the physicians try the medication and use it with their patients. The exposure of the medication is simply good for business. This present study shows that there are inherent dangers with this marketing plan.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes a vital role in the safety of prescribed medication. Recently, the FDA has begun an online initiate to post a listing of problems with prescribe medication. Nevertheless, the length of time that the FDA takes in addressing medication safety concerns points to the need for more staffing and more funding to this agency. Yes, more government spending…

Catherine Forsythe

Free Vista Support Until March 18, 2009

“Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for Windows Vista, but only for Service Pack 1 (SP1). This support for SP1 is valid until March 18, 2009. Availability of chat or e-mail support differs depending on your geographic location.”

link: Help and Support

Catherine

Pop-Up Dangers

By now, one would think that most internet users would be careful of where and what they click. There be dangers lurking. However, there is a study with pop ups that shows why hackers prosper:

“Internet users are unable to distinguish between genuine pop-up warnings messages and false ones, a study at North Carolina State University has found.

The study examined the responses of undergraduates to messages which popped up while they did other tasks on a PC.”

link: Users fail to spot fake pop-ups

It might be interesting to see why some people are not using pop-up blockers. They are free and can prevent a whole load of troubles. For example, Google offers a free pop-up blocker in their tool bar and Firefox has add-ons (extensions) that prevent pop-ups from appearing. These pop-ups should be blocked for the sake of security and to safeguard the computer resources.

Catherine Forsythe