.Net? .Com? .Microsoft?

Interesting. I see Microsoft has partnered up with Melbourne IT to offer the option of doing a whois/registration lookup of failed URL's.

The only problem is they think $35 a year is a good price to register your domain name.

 

Woo hoo! I think...
Borders Goes Live. Borders launches its T-Mobile service in several states, 145 stores: Borders had announced last November that it had partnered with T-Mobile to put hot spot service in all Borders stores in the US. Today, they announced all stores in California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington have gone live, or 145 stores total.... [Wi-Fi Networking News] 

Special Thanks...
I'm gonna have to give a big thanks to Blue Nomad software. They were nice enough to send me a new code for their Wordsmith word processor application for my Clie. What a great company. If you have a Palm it's definetely a great program. It not only offers integration with MS Office but also allows you to create and implement fonts on your Palm OS device. 

Analog cellular tossed by the wayside...
Analog cellular being phased out by carriers, suppliers
AT&T Wireless, one of the two primary supporters of low-speed 19.2Kbps network, will discontinue its service as of June 2004, according to a spokesperson. [InfoWorld]

I guess I chose the perfect time to upgrade to GPRS.

 

Server 2003 Key leaked...
Windows key leak threatens mass piracy. A key code for installing Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 leaks onto the Internet, a loss that could lead to rampant piracy of the software. [CNET News.com]

Obviously one of the requirements for working at Microsoft isn't signing a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement).

 

Adobe to offern new versions of PDF format...
Adobe divides to conquer. The software maker hopes to boost its PDF document format with new versions of Acrobat for ordinary office workers and power users. [CNET News.com]

As if it's not confusing enough for us design professionals? How about coming up with 1 standard first.

 

Upgrade your Apache server now...

Apache urges update ahead of DoS risk alert.
Details of the problem, discovered by security outfit iDefense, are to be made available later today. [The Register]

Wow! Somebody who actually know's to warn then send the disclose the details of the problem before it can be exploited. How refreshing. You think Microsoft is listening?

 

A Wi-Fi world!...
Tuning Into the Hype About Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Internet access is popping up in all kinds of businesses, including fast-food restaurants and coffee shops. But do customers really want it? By Elisa Batista. [Wired News]

Hell yah we do! The problem with the article is, they assume Starbucks to be the model place for Wi-Fi. A better place would be an eating establishment where people go for lunch, dinner, or hang out with friends. Having been a geek for all my life, some of my most enjoyable times have been community surfing with friends or playing online games.

The other problem with the article is their understanding of Wi-Fi. Many of us have been wardriving/walking in the search for the holy grail of Wi-Fi, free access. Who wants to pay for T-Mobile's overrated, overpriced service?

 

Straight from the horses mouth...
Former hacker warns lawmakers about dangers to personal financial information
Kevin Mitnick, whose federal probation on hacking charges ended in January, said businesses need to better protect their computers from newly discovered security flaws and train employees to spot the tricks of identity thieves. [SignOnSanDiego] 

More blogshares...
I got some shares of Dane's weblog today too. And I've definetely got the Blogshares thing figured out. 

XML...
WHAT IS XML?. Here's some background on XML or extensible markup language. Office 2003 is supposed to be rich with features for using... [Rodent Regatta]

You know, I really like XML. I was having the damnest time trying to explain to Dane why the other day. That's the thing about smart friends, deep theoretical and philosophical discussions. Somewhat heated at times too but in the end, they're still your friends.

 

Blogshares...
So I'm checking out this Blogshares thing. I don't have enough value yet to go IPO so I'm currently just buying and selling. I've already purchased 700 shares of someone's blog for about $0.55 a share. A pretty good deal looking at their valuation history. Here's looking at you Joe. 

Improved 802.11 security for WindowsXP...
Windows XP download boosts 802.11 security.
Microsoft released Monday (March 31) for download a free patch that adds Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) to both consumer and business versions of its Windows XP operating system. WPA offers an interim boost in security for 802.11 networks while the 802.11i standards effort continues its work.

WPA uses two 128-bit keys for authentication and those keys can be dynamically generated. Existing 802.11 security only uses one static key. [Hack the Planet]